1 April is April Falls Day, an opportunity to focus on falls awareness, education and the implementation of our revised mobility chart which is now available on PROMPT.
The mobility chart provides a visual guide to clinicians about patient mobility and the level of supervision required to ensure safe mobilisation.
What is a mobility chart?
A mobility chart is an inter-professional tool that provides information about a patient’s mobility and the level of supervision to ensure safe mobilisation. The information includes:
- On bed / Off bed information
- Level of assistance needed
- Level of supervision required
- Number of staff needed
- Equipment required
The mobility chart is best used when placed above the patient’s bed where it can be easily seen and referred to by all employees involved in a patient’s care.
How else can we prevent falls?
Falls prevention is a combination of strategies that when used together create a safe environment for our patients. Undertaking a thorough clinical assessment allows clinicians to implement individualised strategies for every patient. Such strategies include:
Rounding: Hourly rounding is a proactive, patient-centred approach to determine and address patient care needs. Regularly addressing patient needs can prevent spontaneous actions by patients which may lead to a fall.
Orientation: Ward /room orientation can involve removing obstacles, providing clear access to the nurse call bell and adequate lighting, all of which can assist in providing a safe environment.
Education: Encourage patients to ask for assistance and provide falls prevention education to the patient as well as their family. Education can consist of mobility aid use, appropriate footwear and establishing regular toileting needs.
It is important to note that most falls can be prevented. Performing risk assessments and implementing these strategies, in conjunction with use of the revised mobility chart, will help reduce the occurrence of falls.
Falls prevention is everyone’s responsibility and together we can reduce the risk and prevent harm from falls.
You can find more information about falls prevention in the falls toolbox.
Approved by Naomi Dobroff