A study of 2,000 people aged 65+, commissioned by the Connected Care Platform provider Anthropos, were asked why they kept it secret, with 26 per cent saying they can deal with any care issue themselves, 16 per cent don’t want to be labelled ‘vulnerable’ and 18 per cent don’t want to acknowledge they’re getting older.

Almost a third (29 per cent) of people aged 65+ have hidden their need for any type of care support from loved ones.

Secrets kept to avoid ‘burdening’ family

Thirty-nine per cent admitted they would keep their feelings a secret from loved ones to avoid burdening them.

These secrets aren’t just limited to falls; the other most common issues are reduced mobility, changes in toilet habits, forgetfulness, sleeping difficulties and loss of balance.

Jim Patience, chief executive of Anthropos, which focuses on passive falls detection without the use of wearable devices, said: “Considering there are 11 million people aged 65 and over, the research really brings home just how widespread these issues are. If we extrapolated these numbers across the whole of the UK, it could indicate that every year around 2.6 million people fall, with 686,000 people not telling anyone about it.

“It fits into the wider pattern we’ve found that so many older people are hiding care concerns. We hope adults of all ages consider how these findings may support gentle, sensitive conversations with the older people in their lives about all care matters, from falls to forgetfulness.”