Falls prevention at MidCentral Health and the introduction of Invisibeam

16/06/2010 | Falls prevention at MidCentral Health

Invisibeam, which is a tool in the prevention of falls is working well in MidCentral Health and assisting with the reduction in falls for patients.

They have precise invisible infrared beams which set off an alarm when a patient attempts to exit from a bed or chair, were introduced late last year and after about eight months use are being evaluated for their effectiveness in preventing falls.

MidCentral Health patient safety and clinical effectiveness director Muriel Hanratty said: “The beams have been more widely used over recent months and it is highly likely the recent decrease in reported falls is at least in part a result of this.”

In the past three months there has been a substantial downward trend in the number of patients reported to have fallen – partially being attributed to the use of Invisibeams. MidCentral Health has five bed and three chair Invisibeams that are located at the loan pool for use by wards.

A Falls Group meets regularly to determine strategies to reduce falls and raise awareness around falls prevention. All patients are assessed for their risk of falls when they are admitted to MidCentral Health and this is a great mechanism to determine what level of support and assistance they require.

Another strategy that is currently occurring is a pilot of an incident form specific to falls which will assist the group in identifying the major contributing factors around patient falls and what can be done to reduce those risks.

Once it is able to capture this information it will provide the Falls Committee and Clinical Quality staff with a greater level of information from which to develop their preventative programmes.

Contact: Communications Unit (06) 350 8945.