Three things you can do to keep patients from falling
It's Falls Prevention Week!
Falls in hospitals are the most commonly reported patient safety incident with more than 240,000 reported in acute hospitals and mental health trusts in England and Wales and these falls result in:
- over 2,500 hip fractures
- loss of confidence and slower recovery, even when physical harm is minimal
- distress to families and staff
Acute illness, particularly in frail older people or those recovering from serious injury or surgery, increases the risk of a fall in hospital. Patients are vulnerable to delirium, dehydration and deconditioning, all of which affect balance and mobility, especially in unfamiliar surroundings.
The majority of falls occur among medical inpatients during the first few days after admission.
Here at North Mid we have a falls risk assessment and falls prevention plan of care that is completed within six hours of admission to hospital.
As part of Falls Prevention Week we are promoting three three things can you do to keep patients safe from falling today:
- Patients have a call bell and know how to use it
- Patients have their walking aid within reach
- Patients have appropriate footwear on when mobilising and sat out of bed.
On top of this, we'll be promoting falls prevention services offered by our community partners, Age UK, and the Enfield Physiotherapy Falls Service.
Look out on Twitter to see how staff are getting involved in Falls Prevention Week.
For more information about falls prevention contact Deborah Watkins, falls lead.