I am no stranger to minor accidents at home and outside. Slips, trips, and falls happen to a lot of people of all ages, from all places, and in all walks of life. These would sometimes lead to injuries which would require hospitalization, or at least a visit to the nearest doctor.
What a lot of us do not realize is that these falls happen to patients in the hospitals and medical facilities, too. There is nothing worse than injuring a person who is already sick, and the cause of such injury is the person who is supposed to be taking care of the patient, like the doctor or nurse. It is like adding injury to an existing injury.
Patient safety has been constantly one of the most pressing challenges in the health care industry, and a significant part of patient injuries come from falls while confined in the hospitals and nursing homes. Reducing harm from falls is becoming one of the top priorities of hospitals and health care organizations around the world. Patients, regardless of age, fall. While certain risk factors are common in younger people, falls are most likely to occur in older patients and they are much more likely to experience serious injuries. A significant number of falls result in injury, or even death, costing millions per annum for immediate health care treatment alone, not to mention the additional costs of rehabilitation and social care. In addition to these financial costs, there are additional costs that are more difficult to quantify. It not only includes the obvious distress, pain, injury, but also loss of confidence and independence to the patient.
There are lots of researches and reports around the internet on patient safety, specifically on how to reduce harm from falls, but it seems that there is not one single guide for all. What is apparent is that non-profit organizations from countries like the UK, Sweden, Australia, Canada and the USA are at the forefront when it comes to these initiatives with The Institute for Healthcare Improvement IHI in Cambridge, Massachusetts providing the main thrust. In the UK, there is Patient Safety First Campaign sponsored by the National Patient Safety Agency, the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement and The Health Foundation. In Australia, there is the Australian Patient Safety Foundation. While in Canada, there is the Canadian Patient Safety Institute.
The approaches are varied, localized, and sometimes isolated depending on the case. But what is common is the need to recognize these harms, identify patients prone to falls, record, monitor, and measure these incidents to be able to come up with actionable plans. These are for more organizational solutions though. Ultimately, it all boils down to the care and dedication given by our doctors, nurses, and caregivers that would spell a big difference.
Accidents do happen but a lot of them can also be avoided with the right actions and presence of mind. For those that cannot be avoided totally, there are ways to reduce the harms and risks brought about by these accidents. While this is easier said than done, it is doable with a little effort and good luck.
December 17th, 2009 at 2:08 AM
Hi, my K-meleon browser is displaying your site weirdly just thought you might want to know.
December 20th, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Thank you very much for letting me know.
With many thanks,
Clive
December 27th, 2009 at 7:52 AM
Hi, Linkslave.
I’ve checked with the experts and they suggested that you might need to add a few plug-ins with your browser.
So far, the site does well with Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.
Thank you and I hope it goes well.
January 5th, 2010 at 12:24 AM
Informative post! I might actually listen to what you are saying. Overall your whole blog is great… I am enjoying it. Well Wishes!
January 6th, 2010 at 3:00 PM
Thank you! I am glad you are enjoying it.
Kind regards,
Clive
January 6th, 2010 at 5:18 PM
Really like the feel of your site, is it wordpress or movable type? Subscribed to your RSS feed!
January 7th, 2010 at 3:00 PM
Greetings everyone, This site is good quality and so is the way the matter was explained. I like some of the comments as well even if I would prefer we focus on the topic so that to add value to the topic. It will be also encouraging to the author if we all could mention it (for some of us who use social media such as a delicious, twitter,..). Again, Thanks..
January 7th, 2010 at 5:46 PM
I do agree with what you wrote, keep updating your blog, that’s better.
January 8th, 2010 at 6:21 PM
Hi, Online Topics.
I’m using Wordpress.
Thank you very much, I’m glad you like the site.
Kind Regards,
Clive
January 8th, 2010 at 6:23 PM
Thank you very much for all your kind words.
Best Regards,
Clive
January 15th, 2010 at 8:07 PM
Nice site to visit! I admire your writing and the way you explain things. Some of the comments on here too are insightful. I appreciate you. keep it up!
January 17th, 2010 at 5:44 PM
Thank you.
I’m glad you liked it.
January 20th, 2010 at 6:15 PM
Great Read. I hope you don’t mind me posting here. I love your site, I’ll be back for your next piece
January 20th, 2010 at 7:39 PM
I appreciate your comments.
Kind regards,
Clive
February 1st, 2010 at 5:55 AM
I admit, I have not been on this webpage in a long time… however it was another joy to see It is such an important topic and ignored by so many, even professionals. I thank you to help making people more aware of possible issues.Great stuff as usual
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:08 AM
Thank you for your comments and glad you enjoy the posts!
Kind regards,
Clive
February 19th, 2010 at 5:16 PM
Great blog. Keep up the good writing.
February 26th, 2010 at 10:55 PM
I appreciate your comments.
Thank you very much.
Kind regards,
Clive
May 16th, 2010 at 1:42 AM
Advantageously, the post is in reality the freshest topic on curing acne naturally. I concur with your conclusions and will thirstily look forward to your upcoming updates. Just saying thanks will not just be enough, for the phenomenal clarity in your writing. I will right away grab your rss feed to stay abreast of any updates.
May 17th, 2010 at 3:41 PM
Yes you learn more while you share your knowledge with others. . . . . .
May 18th, 2010 at 8:28 AM
Yes you learn more while you share your knowledge with others. . . . . .
May 29th, 2010 at 7:57 AM
Have you had problems with spammers?  I also use Blog Engine and I have some good anti-spam practices; please Email me if you are interested in an exchange of practices.
August 20th, 2010 at 3:36 AM
Thanks for sharing
August 23rd, 2010 at 3:11 AM
I find it difficult to subscribe RSS feeds, bookmark this site anyway I have is a very useful and complete information.
August 25th, 2010 at 3:39 AM
Hi – very good web site you have established. I enjoyed reading this posting. I did want to issue a comment to tell you that the design of this site is very aesthetically pleasing. I used to be a graphic designer, now I am a copy editor in chief for a marketing firm. I have always enjoyed playing with information processing systems and am attempting to learn code in my spare time (which there is never enough of lol).
August 26th, 2010 at 6:55 PM
Nice to have this comment box working again.
August 27th, 2010 at 9:21 AM
Thanks once more for offering good content material yet yet again. Undoubtedly a professional-blogger if I’ve observed a single.
August 28th, 2010 at 5:32 PM
This is a topic near to my heart cheers, like your blog layout too. Must be wordpress?
August 29th, 2010 at 5:52 PM
Bookmarking now cheers, definitely consider a follow up post.
August 30th, 2010 at 2:48 AM
Thanks so much for this wonderful article; this is the kind of thing that keeps me going through the day. I’ve been searching around for your article after I heard about them from a buddy and was pleased when I was able to find it after searching for some time. Being a avid blogger, I’m happy to see others taking initiative and contributing to the community. I just wanted to comment to show my appreciation for your work as it’s very encouraging, and many writers do not get the credit they deserve. I am sure I’ll be back and will spread the word to my friends.
September 4th, 2010 at 7:06 PM
I enjoyed reading your blog. Keep it that way.
September 16th, 2010 at 6:30 PM
Fascinating blog post i have to say. Happy to be a age-old returner to your web log Keep it up! i surely will eventually replace the homepage with your webpage.
October 4th, 2010 at 6:36 AM
Thanks, everyone, for your wonderful comments..