WINTER falls have been dramatically cut in half thanks to more safety efforts on paths in Dumbarton and the Vale.

There were hundreds of fewer A&E visits last year and fewer residents needed to stay in hospital as a result of tumbles, according to figures.

Council officials had been asked two years ago to investigate what could be done about the safety of West Dunbartonshire streets and pavements.

In 2018/19, there were 734 visits to the emergency room and 73 hospital admissions as a result of falls. But last year, that dropped to 364 trips to A&E and 41 admissions.

At West Dunbartonshire Council’s (WDC) meeting on December 22, councillors recognised that saved an estimated £200,000 to healthcare budgets.

They asked health bosses to look at moving that money to other ways to improve public safety and further reduce pressure on the NHS and care sector.

The improved figures were repeated for residents aged over 65. Emergency hospital visits dropped from 227 to 104 between 2018/19 and 2020/21, while hospital admissions dropped from 51 to 27.

Council bosses accepted the pandemic also had an impact on behaviours but didn’t see a similar big change in hospital visits at other points of the year.

WDC said a fall by an elderly person, as well as being traumatic, costs the health and social care partnership (HSCP) £3,452 per hospital admission. They agreed to introduce measures just before the pandemic hit for improving footway treatment between January and March 2020.

That included work outwith normal working hours when weather demanded.

Jo Gibson, head of health and community care, told councillors last week: “The additional measures over winter months have helped significantly.”

Labour Councillor John Mooney proposed a motion on moving saved funds to innovation.

He said it would be “useful putting some money into innovation” so there is a benefit to the integration of health and social care with council efforts, such as winter gritting.

SNP council leader Jonathan McColl said: “I think it’s a perfectly sensible suggestion made.”

Councillors backed Cllr Mooney’s motion unanimously.

Leven councillor Jim Bollan has been pushing for improved gritting for years, particularly for housing estates. Winter gritting has more than once faced cuts because of council funding gaps.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Bollan said: “It was pleasing to see reduced visits to hospital A&E is partly linked to increased resources put into the council’s winter gritting programme, something the Community Party has been campaigning on for years.

“The cost-benefit analysis is now clear, to see reduced accidents and falls and we need to further increase investment in winter gritting, particularly in our paths and pavements in our housing estates.”