The Consequences Of Addressing Or Failure For Address A Fall Risk

P4 - explain possible priorities and responses when dealing with two particular incidents or emergencies in a health or social care setting.

I interviewed James Alviar RN, the Coordinator of Risk Management at my current place of employment the Queen's Medical Center West Oahu. I asked him if there were any current risk management issues at our facility that we could discuss, but he said all current issues were confidential and he could not divulge any information to me. Instead, James pointed me in the generic direction of hospital falls that is a nationwide risk management issue and also pertains to us at Queens Medical Center. This paper will be discussing risk management's role, what falls are, how falls are addressed, how risk

Explain possible priorities and responses when dealing with two particular incidents or emergencies in a health and social care setting.

In USA, one in three adults over age 65 suffer fall while 20% to 30% experience moderate to severe injuries (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). In 2010, the cost of falls among elderly people for US health care system was over $30 billion (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Over the last few decades the rate of fall related deaths in USA has sharply been escalating. Many older adults have developed the fear of falling, limiting their social activity and forcing them to live in fear. Some adults suffer lacerations, fracture and trauma during fall, deteriorating their quality of life.

Falls are highly common amongst the elderly, particularly those who lack mobility, are in hospital, or are living in a nursing home. When an elderly person falls, their activities of daily living may be impacted due to injuries sustained from the fall. It is essential that precautions are put in place to prevent falls in all settings. This essay will discuss the statistics surrounding falls, prevention strategies, and the impacts of a fall on a patient’s ability to complete activities of daily living.

One of the most critical factors which contribute to the number of preventable cases of healthcare harm is the culture of silence surrounding these cases. The fear of medical providers to report incidences is related to the possibility of punishment and liability due to a medical error (Discovery, 2010). The criminalization of some acts of medical error has resulted in job dismissal, criminal charges and jail time for some healthcare workers. This is despite the fact that the system they are working in helped to create the situation which led to the error in the first place. Human error, due to fatigue and system errors can result in deadly consequences, but by criminalizing the error it effectively shuts down the ability to correct the root problem. Healthcare workers, working at all levels within the medical system, can provide valuable input on how to improve the processes and prevent harm from occurring (Discovery, 2010).

There are a few pressing health problems that Yolo county faces. One of them in particular are seniors who falls at home only to be hospitalized and discharged without any means of prevention for another fall. The article, “Top Yolo concerns: Seniors’ falls, kids’ dental decay, mental health” by Anne Ternus-Bellamy indicates that two thirds of of patients hospitalized for falls in Yolo County are over the age of 65. The false that were noted were considered to be preventable through the means of addressing home safety, visual impairment, and medication. It does not cost much at all to initiate the prevention sequence compared to actually treating falls. If Yolo county continues to not inform individuals the means of prevention in terms of falling, then there is going to be a steady cost of “treatment of falls” in Yolo county which could be minimized at a substantial rate.

At the center of a successful falls prevention program is an organizational culture that values safety for both patients and associates. Creating a culture of safety is one of the key interventions that reduce harm for patients in a heath care setting (Quigley & White, 2013). If a health care organization fails to protect patients from harm, there are both legal and financial implications. In the effort to prevent harm to patients and hospital acquired injuries, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced pay-for-performance and the value-based purchasing program in 2008. These non-payment programs, withhold payments to organizations that report hospital acquired injuries such as falls (Rheaume & Fruh, 2015). A reduction is reimbursements leaves a health care organization vulnerable to financial instability. A lack of financial resources can lead to staffing reductions and lack of investment in patient safety interventions; both have been shown to lead to poor patient outcomes (Trepanier & Hilsenbeck, 2014).

This requires critical thinking and reliance on one's one staff and healthcare system. The healthcare system has many safety measures, such as better medication and patient scanning systems, bed or chair alarms to alert staff, and the call-light system to let patient request staff in a timely manner. Though there are measures in place to try and limit errors they still happen. Even if a patient is on a bed alarm the patient could still fall while ambulating. Safety call-outs are a way to track what happen or almost happen and to further prevent such occurrences from happening again. It goes beyond just blaming one single to person

The Ward Manager ensured that the staff received appropriate training on falls prevention, the use of the risk assessment tools and care plans for the patients. The role of the Ward Sister is to make sure all accidents, incidents and near misses are reported and documented and providing feedback to the staff on themes from slips and trips and falls investigations is the sister’s responsibility, (Local Trust Policy). Reporting of incidences is also important as it follows the Reporting of Injuries, Disease and Dangerous Occurrence regulations 2013 (Health and Safety Executive, 2016) (HSE). In workplaces, the Health and Safety Work act 1974 underpins some of the guidelines of the Adult Inpatient Falls Management incorporating the use of safe

Falls in the elderly is a significant health problem, which can lead to severe issues such as morbidity and mortality. The topic of falls within the elderly was chosen so that the many interventions, risks, and awareness strategies can be further explored within this paper. Throughout clinical practice I was intrigued by the number of patients that have fallen and the strategies that health care organizations take to prevent falls. However, I was concerned by the lack of awareness in the community related to falls in the elderly. The topic of falls in the elderly is multifactor in the sense that there are many intersectional factors that can result in falls. The significant impact of falls in the elderly and the consequences that falls have

The problem and explanation: The hospital I am employed at is currently having an issues with patient falls. The hospital is a “no restraint facility” and strongly discourages the use of any form of restraint including leather, soft, posey vests, or chemical. Currently the line of defense is using staff sitters, moving the patient to a visible room when available and or family members are encouraged to come and stay with their loved ones who are at high risk of falls. This does not always rectify the issues secondary to staffing issues and family participation.

As population ages in all developing nations, impacts of falls remaining a huge problem for social and healthcare systems (Oliver, 2009). According to National Institute on Aging (NIA), in 2006 almost 500 million people worldwide were aged 65 or older. That number projected to reach 1 billion by 2030 with most rapid increases in developing countries. Because older adults are fastest growing segment of the United States population the problem is only going to get worth. An estimated 25% to 39% of adults aged 65 years or older fall each year (Keskin et al., 2008). Falls accounted for a leading cause of injuries, hospitalizations and death among elderly. Besides, people who sustained a fall within a past year will be more prone to

The risk of falling dramatically increases as one ages. According to Menant et al, a fall is defined as an “unexpected event in which the person comes to the ground, floor, or lower level”. In this study conducted by Menant et al, the authors desired to distinguish certain factors that may contribute to falls associated with the elderly.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that more than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year. Half of the elderly people, who fall, do so repeatedly. Aside from the health problems related to falls, nearly $20 billion of direct medical costs are associated with fatal and non-fatal falls (Larson & Bergmann, 2008).