A fall costs the NHS £13,325 on average in Medway. The council's 20-week FaME classes are free, 500 people have finished them, and you can refer yourself.

Five hundred Medway residents have now finished the council’s free falls prevention course, and another 268 are partway through it. The council published the first results on 17 September, ahead of Falls Prevention Awareness Week, which starts on Monday 21 September (Medway Council).

The number that frames it is this: the council says the average cost of a fall in Medway to the NHS is £13,325.

What the course is

FaME stands for Falls Management Exercise and Wellbeing. Medway launched its version in April 2025. It runs for 20 weeks and combines exercise with wellbeing support, specialist information sessions and a physical assessment to track progress.

It is free to Medway residents, and carers can join in (Everyday Active Kent). The listed reasons for joining are broad:

  • mobility limitations
  • a fear of falling, or a previous fall
  • musculoskeletal conditions not currently being treated
  • osteoarthritis, osteopenia, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis

You do not need a doctor to put you forward. You complete a health screening first, and some people are asked for a GP referral. Conditions currently under investigation are excluded.

What the early results show

The council reports two sorts of outcome from people who have completed the course.

On how people feel, almost three-quarters said their wellbeing had improved, and 59 per cent said they felt less isolated afterwards.

On what they can do, the physical assessments moved as well:

Assessment Share of participants who improved
Sit to stand 63%
Single-leg stand 65%
March on the spot 60%

Cllr Teresa Murray, deputy leader and portfolio holder for public health, said the early results show “participants are becoming stronger, more assured and more connected, whilst also helping to reduce pressure on health and care services”.

The savings are a projection, not a measurement

The council’s release leads on money, and it is worth being clear about where that money comes from.

It is modelled. The council takes an expected two-year cohort of 1,600 people, in which the baseline number of falls would be 264. It then applies peer-reviewed evidence that FaME cuts the rate and risk of falls by between 26 and 54 per cent. That produces 69 to 143 falls prevented, £915,000 to £1.9m in avoided NHS costs, and a net saving of £325,000 to £1.3m once the programme’s own costs are taken off.

That is reasonable arithmetic, but it is not a count of falls among Medway participants. The council has not published one. What it has published are the wellbeing and physical assessment results above.

It is behind its own numbers

The programme aims for 1,600 people to take part over two years and 880 to complete. It launched in April 2025, so about 17 of those 24 months have gone.

Against that, 500 have completed and 268 are currently taking part: 768 people, or 48 per cent of the participation target, at roughly 71 per cent of the time. Completions are at 57 per cent of their target. A 20-week course means anyone starting now will not finish inside the two years, so the gap is unlikely to close on its own.

That is not an argument against the course. It is a reason the council’s own awareness week matters, and it is the context missing from the release.

What it means for you

  • You can refer yourself. Phone 01634 335544 or email fame.medway@nhs.net, or use the self-referral form on the Everyday Active Kent page. A healthcare professional can also refer you.
  • There is no charge, and the council’s own page confirms it for Medway residents (Medway Council).
  • A previous fall is a reason to go, not a reason to wait. Fear of falling and a previous fall are both on the list of things the course is designed for.
  • Falls Prevention Awareness Week runs from Monday 21 September, which is when the programme is likely to be easiest to find out about locally.
  • Twenty weeks is a commitment. It is roughly five months of regular sessions, so it is worth asking about times and locations before signing up.

FaME is the second Medway public health programme to publish figures this month. The other is the Creative Health Place Partnership, which we covered in £400,000, 17 projects and 5,000 people.

Sources