Clinical Experience of Maintaining Patient Safety in Hospital

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guidance CG161 recommends that all patients admitted to hospital over the age of 65 and those with specific underlying conditions between the age of 50 and 64 are considered at high risk of falls and a documented falls risk assessment is undertaken on admission. However, whilst advising the use of an appropriate multifactorial risk assessment (MFA) NICE also acknowledges that there is no evidence of the efficacy of most falls prevention methods in hospital and that high quality randomised controlled trials (RCT) conducted in the UK are required to improve the existing evidence base.

Falls are referred to as accidents but statistically they have been shown not to demonstrate a pattern of chance which suggests a causal process. Contributing factors leading to falls have been recognised as; postural stability, gait, sensory deficit, neuromuscular impairment, psychological conditions, impact of medications, environmental risks and medical risks such as stroke and cardiac issues. Significant research has been undertaken in relation to falls in the community and as such there are useful clinical guidelines published by both NICE and World Falls Guidelines for preventing and managing patients falls in their home. Whilst patients may be at less risk in their own environment, when admitted to hospital usually single or multiple risk factors apply, even if only for a limited period due to the nature of their presenting condition. It is therefore necessary to assess all patients who are admitted to hospital to establish the level of risk they face and to prescribe interventions with the goal of preventing an accidental fall.

In the UK, 30 - 50% of accidental falls in hospital lead to some injury and 1-3% of those sustain a fracture. In-patient falls are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, with an estimated 247,000 occurring annually at a cost of £2.3billion to the NHS. In-patient falls have consistently been the biggest single category of reported incidents since the 1940's. Little has changed in the 39 years since the that paper and with falls accounting for 85% of all hospital acquired conditions in the USA it is safe to say this is a global issue. A recent Australian study estimated that the annual cost of attempts to prevent in-hospital falls across six health services consumed AU$590 million per year in resources. The areas of greatest investment were 18% physiotherapy, 14% 24 hour observation, 12% falls assessments and 11% falls prevention alarms and there is a lack of quality research to support their efficacy as falls prevention strategies. The generalisable level of success of these strategies is still not known. It seems that health services across the world are investing time and effort in strategies for which there is an absence of evidence. The recently published World Guidelines for Falls Prevention has confirmed there remains no research supporting the use of technology such as falls alarms or nonslip socks (NSS) in hospitals and as such recommends only standard falls prevention methods. As a result of increasing reimbursement costs for hospital treatments, in 2008 the Centres for Medicaid & Medicare Services, health insurance companies in the United States of America (US), removed reimbursement to hospitals for costs incurred by patient falls and any associated trauma resulting in increasing financial burden to hospitals. The impact on staff suffering 'second victim phenomena' as a result of adverse incidents and the cost to patients who suffer pain, disability, and death is incalculable.