Occupational Therapy Can Reduce Hospital Fall Rates

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) believes that occupational therapy can reduce the number of falls patients suffer while in the hospital or treatment facility.

The NHS reported that the cost of treating a patient after a fall is £2,600 (over $4,400AUD), and that in-hospital patient falls may account for as much as one-quarter of the £2.3 billion (nearly $4 billion AUD) total care costs associated with fall-related injuries in hospitals.

77 percent of those who sustained falls while in hospital care were 65 years of age or older. This is particularly alarming as falls later in one’s life can have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life.

Occupational therapists would play a vital role in advising hospitals and treatment facilities on necessary safety improvements in their wards to ensure that patients are not put at a greater risk of suffering a fall.

The NHS feels that such interventions could help prevent thousands of falls each year, which would improve health care outcomes for patients as well as save health services resources and money.… .. Click here to read the rest

A Free Online Training Event For In Home Care Workers and Key Care Personnel: How You Can Reduce Your Client’s Falls Risks In The Home

Click here to register for the FREE Webinar.

As a carer you work closely with your clients be it walking, moving from sitting to standing or in and out of the shower all of which can be a risky activity. A person’s ability to do these everyday tasks can change. What works today can be very different on your next shift.

A fear many carers have, maybe much like you, is to have a client fall during your shift.  After a fall, as a carer,  you may experience a sense of helplessness and a loss of confidence in your skill and,  this no doubt ,can really affect you . You’d appreciate having a client fall is not a scenario you want to experience, especially if you can predict if it may happen.

So what can you do to identify falls risk? How can you be more sensitive to the change in your client?… .. Click here to read the rest