To do list

Preventing falls in institutions is possible! Use a checklist for leaving the room.

01 Apr 2021

Before leaving the room, have you thought about preventing falls?

Here are some recommendations to include in the discharge protocol:

  • Offer to go to the toilet. 
  • Check that the older person is wearing the right slippers. 
  • Check that the bed is blocked. 
  • Check that the bed is in the lowest position. 
  • Ensure that the patient can easily reach the bedside table and the bed alarm. 
  • Install the infusion stand on the side where the patient gets out of bed. 
  • Provide sufficient support points in the bedroom, bathroom and hallway (chairs or grab bars). 
  • Clear the room of all unnecessary items that are not necessary for the patient's care or well-being. 
  • Ensure that the passageway is wide enough.

Check list1

Preventing falls of the elderly in institutions is possible!

When it comes to falls prevention, the simplest things are often the most effective... but probably the most difficult to implement systematically. Let's meet for a 10 minutes quick team training on nursing interventions for falls prevention (download the poster on falls prevention in institutions). This training will be an opportunity to make the links between the scientific recommendations and the actions to be implemented.

Download the poster on preventing falls in institutions

Implementing simple measures to prevent falls in institutions.

Among the interventions that can be carried out by health care staff, we can list general and patient-specific measures.

These general measures have an important impact on the number of falls. For example, the introduction of a falls register can reduce the incidence of incidents by 50%. The implementation of a multifactorial approach can reduce it by 30%.

Checklist 2

What is the nursing role before leaving a room?

A second step would be to set up protocols for the care of patients at risk of falling. In this context, a checklist for leaving the room can help focus our attention on key elements in the prevention of falls. The patient lives in his room, interacts with the furniture, adapts his environment and adapts some of his behaviours to life in the hospital. The nurse does the same, according to her habits, culture and beliefs. The result is a very changeable environment that is conducive to undesirable events. To foresee and control everything is illusory, but to provide safety nets is quite feasible.

The prevention of falls is therefore a matter for the patient's bedside. The implementation of a checklist for leaving the room is a simple way to take care of your care practice.

Checklist 3

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