by Matt Little

Poster Download

Problem

How do we engage teams in falls reduction.

Purpose

To reduce falls on wards

Method

1st of April “April falls day” 2018 marked the start of the campaign “#Little things matter” focussed on reducing falls.

The goal of this campaign was to change the culture and the way we think about falls, by showing that if everyone makes a little change in practice, we can bring about big changes for our patients.

We could very easily inforce and tell everyone they must complete a falls bundle, but where is the sustainability, so I wanted to slowly change and really imbed the practice

The campaign started April 1st across medicine, supported by the falls champions and ward managers and was planned to run for 1 year.

The plan was to gradually expand to incorporate surgery, this went quicker than planned, by week 2 we were fully rolled out across the trust bed base

Each month the campaign focussed on different areas that contribute towards falls, aiming to reduce that risk with small tests of change. i.e.

April, call bells, is the call bell in reach?

If a patient can’t reach the bell, how can they get help when they need to mobilise?

May, Non Slip sock’s or well-fitting Slippers reduce falls; don’t forget your patients feet before they mobilise.

This was supported with Posters, Audits and Twitter

Results:

Along with the NHSI fall collaborative and the introduction of open visiting falls were reduced

Conclusion

This campaign had great uptake across the trust.