Question

Summarize This Journal in 2 Paragraphs

Safety of the hospital environment in terms of preventing falls on the part of the elderly: a descriptive study

The hospital environment is conducive to falls. Maintaining the physical structure in terms of safety standards are preventive measures with regard to falls.

The hospital, in which this study was undertaken, has a good ward infrastructure, with the presence of caged beds and an electrical system that allows the adjustment of the position and the height of the bed as needed. We consider this is an organized environment with a bell and bedside light in all wards and a bell in the toilet. However, some risky objects were found in the wards, such as bedside furniture without sliding latches, the bell being out of reach of the patient, and slippery flooring.

We point out, as negative aspects, the toilets, which are not in accordance with the current legislation and put patients at risk of falls. It is recommended that a survey be carried out of the conditions of these facilities and that proposals for suitability, according to the NBR 9050/2004, be submitted to the management of the institution. Similarly, we recommend providing non-slip strips on the stairs, signaling critical spaces, removing or adjusting the unevenness of bathroom floors and the installation of complementary grab bars, including also the area outside the shower to provide support for when the patient gets dressed, thus avoiding the need to use the sink as a safety bar.

The lack of statistical significance between the variables relating to environmental safety for individual use and the occurrence of falls indicates the need for further studies related to the theme, including the intrinsic and behavioral factors of elderly inpatients.

Given that the prevalence rate of in-hospital falls on the part of the elderly is not considered acceptable, it is understood that the development of a standardized methodology for the evaluation of this adverse event is essential. This standardization would allow comparisons between hospitals, and the results could be directed to specific processes for quality care and for the improvement of infrastructure.

It is understood that the implementation of the protocol for fall prevention proposed by the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA, abbreviation in Portuguese)(5) in all hospitals is necessary. This document stipulates the formation of a Center for Patient Safety in order to apply and monitor health conditions and treatment protocols and prevention of service failures. It is believed that hospitals that have implemented the protocol can create multidisciplinary teams or their own committees within each clinic, aiming to supervise and update the activities and to consider for the prevention of falls. This will allow the creation of a profile and comparison with the national rate in terms of the occurrence of adverse events in the hospital environment.

Based on these results, we emphasize that maintaining the intra-hospital environment according to technical standards, and the need for encouraging the attention of nursing staff in terms of the safety of the hospital environment are essential in terms of safety in general and fall prevention in particular.

Answer 1

Fall is one of the injury causing factor in hospitals. It might be due to the wet floor , no side bars in the bathrooms , height of the bed which is high etc . In this journal ,the main focus is given to this risk factor that is fall , how to prevent fall of patients in the hospital .

To prevent fall in the hospital , in this journal its said to establish a separate committee who will look after the causative factors that leads to fall will implement the changes that has to be done like having side bars in the bathrooms , washrooms ,stairs , keeping the floors always dry , keeping the heights of the bed low etc by having a meeting with the administration and staff who look after the patient so that they can do the necessary changes which are at their levels .