Safety drive reduces numbers of patients suffering falls and sores

THE NUMBER of frail hospital patients suffering falls and painful pressure ulcers is being reduced thanks to a safety project at a city’s hospital trust.

Staff at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS trust launched a scheme to intervene earlier if patients are at risk from falls which can worsen their condition and lead to longer stays in hospitals. Porters, cleaners and domestics at the trust team up with medical staff to take part in “safety huddles” to spot the signs of patients being at risk.

Dr Anna Winfield, Patient Safety manager and Elderly Medicine Specialist, said: “Everybody has a big role to play in patient safety. It’s about getting rid of that hierarchy that has existed in the past. We are all part of one big team.

“We’ve found that it improves team working and the safety culture.”

Around 180 falls were recorded at Leeds Teaching Hospitals in June, mainly among elderly patients. Around 250,000 falls are recorded in NHS hospitals every year. Falls among elderly people are estimated to cost the NHS £2bn a year.

The Leeds trust is hoping to reduce falls in the long-term after launching new safety measures which have already seen one elderly ward go 40 days without reporting a fall.

The number of pressure ulcers has reduced by 18 per across the trust, and by 43 per cent on 14 wards where new safety measures were piloted.

“Dr Winfield said: “Falls are quite common first thing in the morning when people get up to go to the toilet.

“If we can make sure they are supervised they are less likely to fall. What is quite significant is the fear of falling.

“If somebody falls they might move around less and that leads to muscle weakness and them becoming less fit.

“In the community, people who have fallen can become more socially isolated.”