Using a collaborative approach to reduce falls in older people’s adult mental health wards in a local health board in Wales
Between April 2020 and March 2021, the number of fall-related emergency admissions in England for adults over 65 years was 1933 per 100 000 people. Adult patients in hospital may be at risk of falling for many reasons including a history of falls, being medically unwell, dementia or delirium, the ef...
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BMJ Publishing Group
2025-04-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open Quality |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003219.full |
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| author | Melanie Davies Simon Williams Louise Walker Dolores Macchiavello Zoe Williams Paul Gimson Kerstin Ackermann-Lloyd Sophie Bassett Christopher Bevan Anna Brooks Naomi Elias Jessica Gapper Gemma Gash Andrew Hermolle Naomi Hill Caroline Humphreys Bhuvan Kckhadka Ana Llewellyn Bleddyn Marsh Leah Price Bethan Rees Leah Richards Alison Sproston Eleri Wright Philippa Clark |
| author_facet | Melanie Davies Simon Williams Louise Walker Dolores Macchiavello Zoe Williams Paul Gimson Kerstin Ackermann-Lloyd Sophie Bassett Christopher Bevan Anna Brooks Naomi Elias Jessica Gapper Gemma Gash Andrew Hermolle Naomi Hill Caroline Humphreys Bhuvan Kckhadka Ana Llewellyn Bleddyn Marsh Leah Price Bethan Rees Leah Richards Alison Sproston Eleri Wright Philippa Clark |
| author_sort | Melanie Davies |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Between April 2020 and March 2021, the number of fall-related emergency admissions in England for adults over 65 years was 1933 per 100 000 people. Adult patients in hospital may be at risk of falling for many reasons including a history of falls, being medically unwell, dementia or delirium, the effects of their treatment or medication, poor mobility, visual and other sensory impairments along with their general well-being. Research has shown that falls can be reduced by 20%–30% through multifactorial assessments and interventions. The aim of these assessments and interventions is to identify and treat underlying reasons for falls such as muscle weakness, cardiovascular problems, dementia, delirium, incontinence and medication. However, national audits have found low levels of implementation of these assessments and interventions in UK hospitals. As part of a new patient safety improvement initiative, a collaborative was developed to reduce the incidence of in-patient falls rate per 1000 bed days within five older adults’ mental health wards in a health board in Wales. The falls collaborative project has resulted in substantial improvements in care, including an increase of patients receiving lying and standing blood pressure assessment, medication review and delirium assessments. While reported falls rates stayed the same for the five wards, when each ward individually was factored in, we saw a reduction in two wards and estimated that the increase in falls for the remaining of three wards was related to a previous state of under-reporting, considering the numbers stayed levelled throughout the collaborative. The small reduction we saw was achieved without any extra support or allocated resources, and the ongoing staffing challenges all five wards experienced throughout the collaborative, all these improvements were received as a great success. The team was shortlisted for the National Health Service Wales Awards in the Safe Care category, something they took great pride in. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-99cf9267adaa4ed3b4e3b06ad7a6b3a1 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2399-6641 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open Quality |
| spelling | doaj-art-99cf9267adaa4ed3b4e3b06ad7a6b3a12025-08-20T03:09:55ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Quality2399-66412025-04-0114210.1136/bmjoq-2024-003219Using a collaborative approach to reduce falls in older people’s adult mental health wards in a local health board in WalesMelanie Davies0Simon Williams1Louise Walker2Dolores Macchiavello3Zoe Williams4Paul Gimson5Kerstin Ackermann-Lloyd6Sophie Bassett7Christopher Bevan8Anna Brooks9Naomi Elias10Jessica Gapper11Gemma Gash12Andrew Hermolle13Naomi Hill14Caroline Humphreys15Bhuvan Kckhadka16Ana Llewellyn17Bleddyn Marsh18Leah Price19Bethan Rees20Leah Richards21Alison Sproston22Eleri Wright23Philippa Clark24Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKImprovement CTM, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKImprovement CTM, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKCwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Abercynon, UKBetween April 2020 and March 2021, the number of fall-related emergency admissions in England for adults over 65 years was 1933 per 100 000 people. Adult patients in hospital may be at risk of falling for many reasons including a history of falls, being medically unwell, dementia or delirium, the effects of their treatment or medication, poor mobility, visual and other sensory impairments along with their general well-being. Research has shown that falls can be reduced by 20%–30% through multifactorial assessments and interventions. The aim of these assessments and interventions is to identify and treat underlying reasons for falls such as muscle weakness, cardiovascular problems, dementia, delirium, incontinence and medication. However, national audits have found low levels of implementation of these assessments and interventions in UK hospitals. As part of a new patient safety improvement initiative, a collaborative was developed to reduce the incidence of in-patient falls rate per 1000 bed days within five older adults’ mental health wards in a health board in Wales. The falls collaborative project has resulted in substantial improvements in care, including an increase of patients receiving lying and standing blood pressure assessment, medication review and delirium assessments. While reported falls rates stayed the same for the five wards, when each ward individually was factored in, we saw a reduction in two wards and estimated that the increase in falls for the remaining of three wards was related to a previous state of under-reporting, considering the numbers stayed levelled throughout the collaborative. The small reduction we saw was achieved without any extra support or allocated resources, and the ongoing staffing challenges all five wards experienced throughout the collaborative, all these improvements were received as a great success. The team was shortlisted for the National Health Service Wales Awards in the Safe Care category, something they took great pride in.https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003219.full |
| spellingShingle | Melanie Davies Simon Williams Louise Walker Dolores Macchiavello Zoe Williams Paul Gimson Kerstin Ackermann-Lloyd Sophie Bassett Christopher Bevan Anna Brooks Naomi Elias Jessica Gapper Gemma Gash Andrew Hermolle Naomi Hill Caroline Humphreys Bhuvan Kckhadka Ana Llewellyn Bleddyn Marsh Leah Price Bethan Rees Leah Richards Alison Sproston Eleri Wright Philippa Clark Using a collaborative approach to reduce falls in older people’s adult mental health wards in a local health board in Wales BMJ Open Quality |
| title | Using a collaborative approach to reduce falls in older people’s adult mental health wards in a local health board in Wales |
| title_full | Using a collaborative approach to reduce falls in older people’s adult mental health wards in a local health board in Wales |
| title_fullStr | Using a collaborative approach to reduce falls in older people’s adult mental health wards in a local health board in Wales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using a collaborative approach to reduce falls in older people’s adult mental health wards in a local health board in Wales |
| title_short | Using a collaborative approach to reduce falls in older people’s adult mental health wards in a local health board in Wales |
| title_sort | using a collaborative approach to reduce falls in older people s adult mental health wards in a local health board in wales |
| url | https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/14/2/e003219.full |
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