AN innovative type of safety flooring which sounds as if it would be more at home in a disco is being trialled at York Hospital.

The hospital trust has been working with the University of Portsmouth on a study called Helping Injury Prevention in Hospitalised Older People (HIP HOP), and the hospital now has the shock-absorbent flooring in four areas, including a bay on one of the wards.

It is hoped the HIP HOP floor, which is thicker than regular floor coverings and has a “memory-foam” backing, will reduce injuries in those who fall while in hospital. A further four areas without the new type of surface will also be monitored as a comparison.

A spokesman for the University of Portsmouth said: “In hospitals, older people can fall and hurt themselves. We want to see if a new type of flooring can help stop people hurting themselves as badly, if they accidentally fall.”

Sue Holden, associate director of learning and research at York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is great to be involved in this study, which has the potential to not only improve care for our patients, but may influence management of falls nationally.

“It supports the trust’s ongoing work to reduce falls across the hospital as part of the national initiative.”

The hospital said a research team would now study all the areas for a further 12 months, allowing them to compare the flooring with the hospital’s regular surface. The two would then be compared to see if there had been a noticeable reduction in injuries. Funding for the study has come from the Dunhill Medical Trust and the National Osteoporosis Society.