Department of Health

If a patient falls in hospital, review their falls risk status as they are at high risk of falling again. Refer to your health service’s policies and procedures for post-fall management guidelines. These may vary between hospitals and settings but will generally include actions such as:

  • reassuring the patient
  • calling for assistance
  • checking for injury
  • providing treatment as indicated
  • assessing vital signs and neurological observations
  • notifying medical officer and nurse in charge
  • notifying next of kin
  • ensuring falls risk assessment and interventions are updated and implemented
  • providing education to patient and family.

Some health services use post-fall huddles to decrease the likelihood of patients experiencing recurrent falls by determining the cause of the fall and guiding intervention.

Generally a huddle is an immediate bedside evaluation of a fall, which includes staff present, the patient and their family and carers and the interdisciplinary team. The purpose of the huddle is to analyse the factors leading to the fall and plan for prevention of falls. The huddle information should be documented.

Reviewed 05 October 2015

Health.vic

Was this page helpful?