A Guideline for the Prevention and Management of Falls has been developed to assist staff and management in our Residential and Inpatient settings in both Older Persons and Mental Health Services. This includes a range of supporting materials, all of which are available lower down on this page.
The Guideline, supported by the accompanying Workbook, will now be implemented across our residential and Inpatient facilities in Older Persons and Mental Health Services, strengthening a uniform approach to falls prevention and management across all relevant sites, benefitting service users and residents.
We all recognise the potential for significant harm that can be caused by a fall, but this goes far beyond any physical injuries that may be sustained. Falls can result in trauma, or other non-physical injuries, which can significantly impact on the quality of life of the person who has fallen and cause stress and anxiety for their family members. In healthcare settings, falls by a patient or service user also detract from the ability of staff to improve patient outcomes, as well as impacting on their emotional wellbeing. Falls are also a consideration for organisations such as the HSE, as harmful falls contribute to increased costs which also affects patient care.
A range of videos and documents have been created to assist staff in the roll out of the Guideline. The suite of resources includes a new Multifactorial Falls Risk Assessment (MFRA) tool which replaces previous falls risk assessment tools used to assess patients/residents in residential and inpatient services, including numerical tools such as the FRASE.
Multifactorial falls risk assessments are an evidence-based approach recommended by NICE (2017). Interventions directed to modifiable risk factors for falls can reduce the incidence of falls. Multifactorial falls risk assessments allow the identification of factors that predispose someone to a fall and is used to direct the individual to the appropriate assessments and interventions.
Residential/Inpatient Services Resources
Prevention and Management of Falls & Harmful Falls Workbook for Clinicians
Multifactorial Falls Risk Assessment, Residential/Inpatient Services
Resident Environment and Orientation Tool
A range of videos have also been developed to assist staff in implementing the new guidelines
Briefing session for Managers - Falls prevention & management guideline implementation plan (July 2022)
Briefing session for Frontline Staff - Falls prevention & management guideline (2022)
Briefing session for those completing Multifactorial Falls Risk Assessment (MFRA) - Falls prevention & management guideline (2022)