Say Goodbye To Trips & Falls In Your Care Home Part 3
Anyone can have a fall, but older people and people with reduced mobility are more vulnerable to them. Trips and falls happen for many reason, and can often be unavoidable. Not only can falls and trips cause physical damage - bumps, bruises, and fractured bones - but they can also have a psychological impact, damaging confidence.
According to Age UK, every minute six people over the age of 65 suffer a fall, some of which result in minor injuries, while other falls result in more severe consequences. Statistics show that injuries resulting from trips and falls are the most common cause of death in the UK of those aged 75 and over. So taking precautions to prevent falls should be seen as vital by care home staff.
To help you to keep your residents safe, we have addressed the main causes of falls in care home environments. We have also delved into health and mobility risk factors that can contribute to falls, highlighting actions that can help to ensure the safety of your residents.
As the owner or manager of a care home, you will be aware of your responsibility to ensure that there are fall prevention measures in place. This means making sure that all team members are properly trained to help prevent trips and falls and keep residents safe, it also means ensuring that all residents have a trip and fall prevention plan in place.
Have you missed part 2 of our 'Say Goodbye To Trips & Falls In Your Care Home' series? You can catch up here. For the fourth and final part of the series, check back tomorrow.
Spillages and health conditions:
When it comes to ensuring that trips and falls are prevented wherever possible, one of the most important factors is spills and how quickly they are cleared up. Whether liquid has been split, medication, or food, it’s important that your team understand that it’s a health and safety issue and needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible, to prevent potential trips and falls. Putting out the right signage can also help to prevent falls by raising awareness that the floor may be slippery.
Many falls that are linked to spillages or floors that are slippery for another reason occur because of a lack of awareness that there has been a spillage. This could be because appropriate signage hasn’t been placed around the affected area, or it could be down to a health condition. For example, many seniors suffer from a partial loss of vision, which means that they are less likely to notice hazards. Or, for instance, residents who suffer from dementia may not be alert enough to take in their physical surroundings, causing them to be more prone to trips and falls.
Many trips and falls are caused due to specific factors, such as a health condition like dementia or Parkinson’s, or are due to medication. For example, some medication can cause your residents to be less stable on their feet due to dizziness, this can increase the chances that they will suffer from a trip or fall. This is why it’s so important to take each resident’s health conditions and daily medication into account when it comes to preventing trips and falls in your care home.
