{"id":242261,"date":"2025-10-26T15:24:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T15:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/242261\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T15:24:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T15:24:23","slug":"beloved-actor-michael-caton-reveals-serious-fall-and-calls-for-urgent-action-on-epidemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/242261\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved actor Michael Caton reveals serious fall and calls for urgent action on epidemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Legendary actor Michael Caton has issued an emotional plea to Australians<\/a> and their governments, speaking exclusively to 7NEWS about the need to tackle one of the nation\u2019s deadliest and most neglected health crises: falls among older people.<\/p>\n

He joins a major new push from experts and community leaders to launch Australia\u2019s first national falls prevention alliance.<\/p>\n

Every day, 17 Australians die and 400 are hospitalised because of falls, costing the health system $3 billion a year.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today \"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite decades of world-leading research, Australia has no national plan to prevent these injuries and deaths.<\/p>\n

Caton, 82, who starred in Packed to the Rafters and The Castle, told 7NEWS he joined the campaign after suffering falls himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first fall was about 18 months ago … it came as a bit of a shock because it was a vertigo thing,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve learned that if I feel it coming, I just take a knee \u2014 it\u2019s hard to hurt yourself badly if you\u2019re already at knee level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge amount of people injured and die, and there seems to be nothing really being done about it by the federal or state governments. It kills more people than road accidents, cancer, everything. And we do nothing about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Packed To The Rafters star was moved to act after suffering falls himself. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

He hopes his voice will help break the stigma around ageing and injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think that because you\u2019re over 60, that\u2019s just the way things are,\u201d Caton said. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t have to be. You can live a full life if you know what you\u2019re dealing with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Caton urged governments to act \u2014 and voters to hold them accountable.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet onto your local member and tell them to get off their backsides and start a campaign like Slip, Slop, Slap,\u201d he said. \u201cYou could save a third of those lives if people were educated about how to deal with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CatonCaton worked his way into Australian hearts almost three decades ago with his star turn in The Castle. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

Independent MP Allegra Spender knows the heartbreak firsthand after losing her mother, fashion designer Carla Zampatti, to a fall on stairs at a charity event in Sydney in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a terrible shock,\u201d she told 7NEWS. \u201cYou go from having a family member to suddenly everything\u2019s changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says the government must act now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be asking the Health Minister to respond to because I think there are some very sensible ideas coming out here and I think that the government needs to consider how can it invest better in prevention to help older Australians and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IndependentIndependent MP Allegra Spender (right) lost her legendary fashion designer mother Carla Zampatti (centre) to a fall four years ago. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n

Professor Anne Tiedemann from the University of Sydney<\/a>, who co-founded the Alliance, says the collaboration of researchers, politicians and community groups could finally deliver change.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany falls are preventable, so we\u2019re losing our loved ones unnecessarily,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Falls Prevention Alliance Australia is calling for federal and state governments to:<\/p>\n

Develop a National Falls Action Plan \u2014 modelled on the 2024 Dementia National Action Plan, a falls action plan would set measurable reduction targets and coordinate the delivery of evidence-based interventions across states and territories;Increase funding for intervention programs \u2014 for example to support community exercise programs and provide additional Medicare and health fund rebates for care;Fund a national public health campaign \u2014 similar to those for smoking prevention and skin cancer, the campaign would provide Australians with practical information about how to prevent falls and where to go for advice.<\/p>\n

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