Falls are the most reported patient incident at UHN, with more than 2,000 each year.
Given that reality, the fact falls have a broad scope – inpatient and outpatient units, all sites at the four hospitals – and that a fall can significantly impact a patient's function and overall health, it's little wonder they are one of the six Hospital Acquired Conditions (HACs) in UHN's Caring Safely transformation.
November is Fall Prevention Month – at UHN, and across Canada.
"We all have a role to play," is the slogan, which is being highlighted at UHN during the week of Nov. 20.
During that week, each day, a different one-page "Falls Highlights" will be distributed to units across UHN. Managers are being asked to post these near visual boards and share during their Safety Huddle. Falls Committee members may also be on hand to answer specific questions.
Falls are complex and multi-factorial. That means a team approach is beneficial both in terms of prevention and also in debriefing should a fall occur.
"We all have a role to prevent our patients from falling and suffering injury," says Leanna Graham, Lead, Falls Prevention HAC, and Director, Professional Practice & Policy, Collaborative Academic Practice. "Most importantly, we must include patients and their caregivers in these conversations.
"Together, we can create a powerful and collective impact on fall prevention."
The one-page Falls Highlights rollout will be as follows:
Day 1 – Why Falls? Learn more about the Falls hospital acquired condition and implementation;
Day 2 - Fall Prevention Bundle. Learn about the four elements
Day 3 - Incident Reporting. Why incident reporting is important
Day 4 - Post Fall Discussion Tool. Exposure to a tool to help guide discussion post fall to assist with determining preventability of a fall.
