The Gardens, Tas
Falls Prevention Program
Following a review of resident incident forms and external benchmarking results, The Gardens set up a committee to consider ways to reduce the level of falls suffered by residents in the home. The committee comprised representatives of all roles in the facility, including clinical, cleaning, laundry, catering, administration and allied health services.
The Falls Prevention Program was then developed which saw a 25% decrease in the number of falls per month. Occasionally the number of falls rises slightly in a particular month, but when incidents are analysed, the cause of the increase can be traced to the admission of a new resident who has not yet been assessed and placed on the program.
The program requires all residents to be assessed for mobility and dexterity needs, in conjunction with a physiotherapist. This then results in a physical therapy program being devised to suit each individual resident. A falls risk assessment is also conducted, which involves examining factors such as mental state, vision, speech, medications and continence. A risk level is then decided upon, and if it is high, an individual environmental checklist is completed. This considers all the furniture and other aspects of the resident’s room and amenities and any specialised equipment, such as touch lamps or new shoes that are required. If a resident is high risk, they receive a daisy badge, and a yellow star is placed on the door of their room to remind staff. The daisy badges have become status symbols amongst residents.
The committee now meets on a monthly basis to discuss patterns in falls and how they can be prevented. Residents enjoy participating in the program and watch out for each other and make suggestions about further ways in which falls can be prevented.
In addition, quarterly reviews of residents have revealed that those on the program have increased mobility and can now move about the home with less assistance from staff.
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