Safety Against Fall Every time (SAFE) (Fall prevention Campaign)

Usha Banerjee 1, Anchal Sharma 2 and Maryline Flinsi 3, *

1 Group Director Nursing, Apollo Hospitals Group, New Delhi-76, India.
2 Quality assurance officer, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi-76, India.
3 Principal, Apollo School of Nursing, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi-76, India.
 
Research Article
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 19(03), 1140–1145
Article DOI: 10.30574/wjarr.2023.19.3.1679
 
Publication history: 
Received on 04 August 2023; revised on 10 September 2023; accepted on 12 November 2023
 
Abstract: 
Falls are the second-leading cause of unintentional injuries or deaths worldwide. Inpatient falls result in significant physical and economic burdens for patients as well as for medical organizations. From January to November 2022, the number of fall incidents was 25. The causes identified were ineffective PFE, no hourly rounds, especially during night shifts, poor IPR with assigned patients, lack of awareness regarding disease conditions and medication administered, not giving effective PFE when the level of care changes, and not providing proper fall prevention education to the patient attendant. Group director nursing has initiated a campaign titled “SAFE” (Safety Against Fall Every time) in the month of November. The campaign was conducted till January 2023.Numerous campaign activities were planned to reduce the incidence of patient fall and to reinforce the compliance to fall prevention protocols.  Various fun activities such as pocket charts, spin wheel, dart, quiz activities, poster competitions were planned to encourage participation of the staff in the campaign and to enhance learning. Daily audits were conducted to ensure correct assessment of vulnerable patients & AFRAT (Apollo fall risk assessment tool) monitoring. Daily briefing was held in all the three shifts on PFE & prevention of patient fall. Team leaders of the unit has been instructed to ensure hourly rounds specially during night shifts. The percentage of fall incidence in Jan to Nov 2022 was 62% which was reduced to 32% in Dec to Jun2023.Daily audits on hourly rounds, assessment of vulnerable patient, AFRAT scoring and patient & family education was continued to ensure a culture of safety among the staff nurses. 
 
Keywords: 
Patient Fall; Patient Safety; Fall Prevention Protocol; Campaign; Vulnerable Patients
 
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