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Preventing Falls

First, and we think very importantly, the nurse should do a comprehensive risk assessment to determine the extent of the risk that you’re going to fall or that one of your loved ones is going to fall. The nurse should look at a number of factors to determine what that risk is. We suggest that you talk carefully and fully with the nurse about what those factors are so that you can make sure that the things which need to be done to prevent falls are actually being done.

FALL PREVENTION STRATEGIES

Toileting

There are a variety of fall prevention strategies that the nurses should take into account. Let’s say that you’re at a hospital, you’re weak, you’re in bed, you’re not feeling well and you have to get up to go to the restroom. You need help in all probability to go to the restroom. From the nursing perspective, there should be some type of a program where the staff comes by to check on you to make sure you get to go to the bathroom when you need to go. A toileting program is what they call it in the nursing community.

Bed Position

If you lower the bed and if you have a mattress beside the bed, that’s going to decrease the chance that if you do fall you’ll be damaged.

Address Anxiety

We often find that people in institutional settings and as they get older, have increased anxiety levels. If you’re anxious, chances are greatly increased that you’re going to fall. So you should be consult with the nursing staff and doctors about the kind of medication that can be used to decrease anxiety or other strategies to decrease anxiety.

Increase Supervision With Adequate Staffing

It’s important not to be left alone when you are at an increased risk of falling. It’s best to have somebody there as often as possible to check on you. Nurses should increase their level of supervision. If you need help and there is a call bell, you want to be in a place where a call bell is answered right away. You don’t want to be in a place that’s understaffed and if you push that call bell somebody comes in a half hour. If you need help to go to the restroom or something else, you want somebody to respond quickly. If you’re thinking about an assisted living facility or hospital or nursing home we suggest that you make sure that they have the staff available to come to you when you need the help.

Restraints

Restraints are sometimes used to prevent falls but can be counterproductive. If you’re in an institutional setting and there can’t be someone with you all the time helath care workers may think about using restraints. Counter intuitively, restraints sometimes increase the risk of falling. Patients often pull against the restraints and try to get out of the restraints. Sometimes people can get out of the restraints and that increases the risk that they are going to fall.

Bed and Chair Alarms

Sometimes the doctor will ask the nurses to install a bed alarm or a chair alarm. These are pads that alert if a patient attempts to get out of bed or a chair. An alarm sounds to make the nursing staff aware of the situation. Of course the nurses should respond right away to try to keep you from falling and to provide the appropriate supervision. This is another reason to talk with the nursing supervisors to make sure they enough staff to respond quickly.

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