April Falls

Why are patients at higher risk of falls?

When patients are admitted to hospital they are unwell and in an unfamiliar environment. The combination of the two can mean they are at a higher risk of falling, and more significantly, with harm to themselves. Here at St John of God Ballarat Hospital our nurse’s will be assessing your risk level on a daily basis for the potential risk of falling. Nurses will ask you and your family questions to help with this assessment in order to keep you safe.

How do we help prevent falls?

There are a number of process our Caregivers put in place to reduce the risk of falls to patients, but here is a few key things that we do:

• Provide patients with non-slip socks
• Provide mobility aids
• Use sensor mats to alert nurses to a patient getting up unaided
• Orientate patient to their surroundings

Why is it important to promote Falls Prevention?

Director of Nursing, Maria Noonan, says April Falls is a great way to promote the strategies we deliver to our patients and show families how they can help. “It’s time when we focus on and promote best practice falls prevention strategies to minimise the risk and impact of patient falls within the acute hospital environment. You can find these displays either on the ground floor near the Café, or on each of the wards if you would like to find out more information.