Fall and Injury Reduction

Educational resources and current evidence supporting best practice in falls prevention and intervention.

About

This resource guide supports health care providers to:

  • Reduce the rate of falls, fall-related injuries, and fall-related deaths
  • Encourage patient independence, safe mobilization, freedom of movement, and autonomy in decision making 
  • Foster interdisciplinary approaches to imitating preventative/safety interventions

Assessment Tools and Procedures

Assessment Tools Education

Please consult with your manager/supervisor to determine assessment tools for your unit.

Ordering Supplies

Fall Risk Stickers and Posters

Use the print requisition forms below to order stickers and posters with the fall risk logo.

Use the following print codes: PrinA1030 (stickers), PrinA1038 (small posters)

Highlighted Projects: Success Stories for Falls Prevention

  • SIMS reporting has shown that we have a high rate of falls with no harm and mild harm. There is not a great concern about these falls; however, when falls are reported with moderate or severe harm, there is a need to understand the circumstances of the fall.
  • There has been follow up for all moderate and severe harm falls with manager and team lead. 
  • This has led to increased education, awareness, and more collaboration with staff about injuries related to falls.

CONTACT Suzanne.Baker@nshealth.ca or VanessaJ.Nickerson@nshealth.ca for more information.

  • Provide education for, and assist with the labelling of, all mattress surfaces and bed frames. Make user guides available for every powered surface. 
  • Construct Information Sheets for every make/model of mattress, which includes information needed to choose the most appropriate surface in Rehab Service’s absence.

CONTACT VanessaJ.Nickerson@nshealth.ca for more information

  • For patients at high risk of falls, or for patients who have had a fall, pharmacist may be consulted to perform a medication review.

CONTACT Marcel.Surette@nshealth.ca for more information.

  • A new “Pharmacological Restraint Management Worksheet” is available to help pharmacists identify inappropriate antipsychotic use.

CONTACT Marcel.Surette@nshealth.ca for more information.

As a team we set an initial goal of achieving an outcome of 80% of residents having access to their call bells. This was based on some literature set out during the COVID-19 pandemic around call bell benchmarking. An unanticipated outcome worth noting is that we identified plans for those residents who are not able to use their call bells due to cognitive or physical limitations. Falls representatives on each of the units generated conversations about creating care plans to meet their individual needs.

It was a true interdisciplinary effort recognizing that we ALL have a role in ensuring resident safety, reducing the risk of falls, and promoting good communication. Family members have reported easier access when they need to call for staff and signs were helpful reminders to everyone. Results were shared and showcased for quality, staff, and families, to capture progress along the way. These results also demonstrated that we not only met but exceeded our goal of 80%!!!

CONTACT Lindsay.Burke@nshealth.ca, Ashley.MacMullin@nshealth.ca or Angela.Rutledge@nshealth.ca for more information.