Citation

McNamara CS, Toner A, Murray L. Nurs. Older People 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, RCN Publishing)

DOI

10.7748/nop.2022.e1417

PMID

36514871

Abstract

Older people on mental health inpatient wards are at high risk of falls due to a combination of physiological, pathophysiological and pharmacological factors. Falls prevention should therefore be a priority for nursing staff caring for this patient group. This article describes a quality improvement project conducted on four older adult mental health inpatient wards in Scotland. The project aimed to reduce the number of falls, increase staff's adherence to person-centred falls prevention care planning, and ensure every fall would prompt a post-fall review. Nursing staff participated in a falls prevention training session and registered nurses received, in addition, one-to-one coaching sessions on person-centred care planning. Despite the challenges faced by mental healthcare professionals at the time of the project, staff responded positively and there was a decrease in the number of falls, including falls resulting in harm.

Language: en

Keywords

dementia; mental health; falls; older people; clinical; mental health inpatients; neurology; nursing care; professional; quality improvement