Nationally, falls are among the most serious preventable injury problems facing older Australians today.
A report submitted to the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing under the National Falls Prevention for Older People Initiative in 2003, predicted a three-fold rise in the cost of falls-related injury due to the increasing population of older people in Australia over the next 50 years. The report predicts that unless effective long-term preventative strategies are implemented nationally, an additional 2,500 hospital beds will need to be permanently allocated to falls injury treatment, with an additional 3,200 places being required in nursing homes.
Queensland Health issued the ‘Smart State: Health 2020 – Directions Statement’ in 2002 which highlighted that falls in older people accounts for half the hospital costs related to injury in the State. The report also identifies that patient falls are one of the three most frequently occuring adverse clinical incidents in hospitals, and can result in death, disability or longer hospital stays.
Recognising this growing need for planned and multi-strategic action, The National Falls Prevention for Older People Plan: 2004 Onwards was developed by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing to provide a strategic framework for collaborative action between States and Territories to target falls prevention and minimise injury to older people across Australia.
The national plan complements the Australian Council for Safety and Quality in Health Care’s (ACSQHC) publication titled Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Hospitals and Residential Aged Care Facilities 2005, which informs clinical practice and assists organisations in developing and implementing practices to reduce falls and injuries from falls at the facility level.
Queensland Health is facilitating implementation of the recommendations contained in the Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Hospitals and Residential Aged Care Facilities through the Queensland Health Falls Injury Prevention Program.
The Queensland Health Falls Injury Prevention Program for hospitals and residential aged care facilities is coordinated through the Patient Safety Centre and is headed by a Sate-wide Program Coordinator. The Queensland Health Falls Injury Prevention Program is working collaboratively with individual Health Service Districts, Patient Safety Officers and other health professionals to reduce falls and harm from falls by facilitating the implemention of recommendations made by ‘Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Hospitals and Residential Aged Care Facilities’ (2005) across Queensland Health care facilities.
Program priorities include:
For further information about the Queensland Falls Injury Prevention Program or any other queries relating to falls prevention in hospitals and aged care facilities please contact the Principal Project Officer – Falls Prevention at the Queensland Health Patient Safety Centre.
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