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NICE guidance outlines protocols to stop repeat falls in older people @alistairbauer
Nursing staff should check for signs or symptoms of fracture or potential for spinal injury before moving a patient following a fall. That is the advice from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in a draft quality standard on falls published last week. NICE is seeking views on the standard – made up of four statements Cadets Kirsty Park (left) and Katie Brown are supervised by policies and nursing standards facilitator Gina Williamson
– which include a requirement for hospitals to have a post-falls protocol, kept in an area such as a nursing station so it is easily accessible to staff. Using safe manual handling methods to move a patient and assessing them promptly to see if they are injured are ‘critical’ to the patient’s chances of making a full recovery, according to NICE. Hospital nurses are expected to follow the protocol, while those
CHARLIE HEDLEY
By Alistair Kleebauer
based in the community should be involved in assessing patients who have returned home after a fall. Assessments should be carried out to make sure the environment is safe by, for example, checking that the positioning of furniture does not increase the risk of another fall. NICE has set out priorities to prevent repeat falls in older people to tackle the leading cause of injury-related death in people aged over 75 in the UK. Falls and fractures in people aged 65 and over account for more than four million hospital bed days each year in England, and every hospital fall costs an average of £1,215. Hospital falls, estimated to number 282,000 a year in England, are also the most commonly reported safety incident.
Prompt assessment
College and trusts run cadet course A cadet programme that gives school leavers practical experience of nursing and a BTEC extended diploma in health and social care has been launched in Cumbria. Lakes College in Workington has joined forces with Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust to run the two-year cadetship. The 25 cadets will do placements in acute and community settings, as well as other specialist services such as neurology. Course leader Kath
Armstrong said: ‘We have a mocked-up ward in the college thanks to support from the NHS trusts. The students will be mentored by senior nursing staff throughout their cadetship and experience fundamental principles of good, compassionate nursing care.’ Cadet Kirsty Park was inspired to pursue a career in nursing after witnessing the care provided by nurses to her grandfather. ‘I am enjoying the course and looking forward to my placements after Christmas. At the end I will have the qualification to start a degree in nursing.’
The draft quality standard covers the assessment of falls and prevention of repeat falls in people aged 65 and over living in the community and during a hospital stay in England. People aged 50 to 64 years who are admitted to hospital and judged by a clinician to be at higher risk of falling because of an underlying condition are also covered by it. RCN professional lead for the care of older people Dawne Garrett said district nurses have a role to play in assessing risks of falls at people’s homes. ‘We need to make sure we have enough resources to carry out these assessments.’ Registered stakeholders can comment on the quality standard until December 3 and it is expected to be published next May. To read Falls – Assessment and Secondary Prevention in Older People go to tinyurl.com/nrfv9tk
NURSING by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 03, 2015. For personalnovember 12other :: voluses 29without no 11 ::permission. 2014 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com use only. No Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
NICE guidance outlines protocols to stop repeat falls in older people @alistairbauer
Nursing staff should check for signs or symptoms of fracture or potential for spinal injury before moving a patient following a fall. That is the advice from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in a draft quality standard on falls published last week. NICE is seeking views on the standard – made up of four statements Cadets Kirsty Park (left) and Katie Brown are supervised by policies and nursing standards facilitator Gina Williamson
– which include a requirement for hospitals to have a post-falls protocol, kept in an area such as a nursing station so it is easily accessible to staff. Using safe manual handling methods to move a patient and assessing them promptly to see if they are injured are ‘critical’ to the patient’s chances of making a full recovery, according to NICE. Hospital nurses are expected to follow the protocol, while those
CHARLIE HEDLEY
By Alistair Kleebauer
based in the community should be involved in assessing patients who have returned home after a fall. Assessments should be carried out to make sure the environment is safe by, for example, checking that the positioning of furniture does not increase the risk of another fall. NICE has set out priorities to prevent repeat falls in older people to tackle the leading cause of injury-related death in people aged over 75 in the UK. Falls and fractures in people aged 65 and over account for more than four million hospital bed days each year in England, and every hospital fall costs an average of £1,215. Hospital falls, estimated to number 282,000 a year in England, are also the most commonly reported safety incident.
Prompt assessment
College and trusts run cadet course A cadet programme that gives school leavers practical experience of nursing and a BTEC extended diploma in health and social care has been launched in Cumbria. Lakes College in Workington has joined forces with Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust to run the two-year cadetship. The 25 cadets will do placements in acute and community settings, as well as other specialist services such as neurology. Course leader Kath
Armstrong said: ‘We have a mocked-up ward in the college thanks to support from the NHS trusts. The students will be mentored by senior nursing staff throughout their cadetship and experience fundamental principles of good, compassionate nursing care.’ Cadet Kirsty Park was inspired to pursue a career in nursing after witnessing the care provided by nurses to her grandfather. ‘I am enjoying the course and looking forward to my placements after Christmas. At the end I will have the qualification to start a degree in nursing.’
The draft quality standard covers the assessment of falls and prevention of repeat falls in people aged 65 and over living in the community and during a hospital stay in England. People aged 50 to 64 years who are admitted to hospital and judged by a clinician to be at higher risk of falling because of an underlying condition are also covered by it. RCN professional lead for the care of older people Dawne Garrett said district nurses have a role to play in assessing risks of falls at people’s homes. ‘We need to make sure we have enough resources to carry out these assessments.’ Registered stakeholders can comment on the quality standard until December 3 and it is expected to be published next May. To read Falls – Assessment and Secondary Prevention in Older People go to tinyurl.com/nrfv9tk
NURSING by ${individualUser.displayName} on Dec 03, 2015. For personalnovember 12other :: voluses 29without no 11 ::permission. 2014 11 DownloadedSTANDARD from RCNi.com use only. No Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
