Preventing Falls in Residential Aged Care Settings: Policy Direction and Stakeholder Engagement

Running head: Ageing health and human services
Ageing Health & Human Services
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1Ageing health and human services
Contents
Policy area in the ageing field I would like to investigate.........................................................2
Why I am interested in this policy area......................................................................................2
My preferred policy direction....................................................................................................2
Outline of the policy direction that I would like to recommend................................................2
The stakeholders who needs to be engaged and reasons for doing so.......................................4
Based on the pros and cons, a possible scenario of its implementation.....................................5
Different Scenarios of implementing preventative strategies................................................5
Preventative Strategies that can be used in the scenarios above:...........................................7
Recommendation on an implementation strategy......................................................................9
Key steps of evaluation of the policy after implementation....................................................10
References:...............................................................................................................................14

2Ageing health and human services
Policy area in the ageing field I would like to investigate
In this assignment I would like to investigate policies Of Falls Prevention in
Residential Aged Care Settings of the NSW government (Cec.health.nsw.gov.au 2018). I
would also like to contrast it with the policies outlined in Standard 10 of preventing falls and
harm from falls (Falls prevention :: SA Health 2018)
Why I am interested in this policy area
Injuries related to falls are more common among elderly people and is one of the
major contributors of pain, disabilities, loss of independency as well as death. Every year,
approximately 28% to 35% elderly people above 65 years of age experiences falls, the risk of
falls further increases to 32%to 42% for individuals 70 years or older. Furthermore, the health
system cost per injury due to fall for individuals 65 years or older in Australia is about AU$
6500, as of 2001-2002 (Falls Prevention in Older Age 2018). In South Australia, 22,576
people were hospitalised after a fall, 65% of whom were individuals 65 years or above, and
caused 400 deaths among older people (sahealth.sa.gov.au 2018).
My preferred policy direction
Standard 10, Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls, Safety and Quality Improvement
guide (2012) outlined criteria to prevent falls and harm from falls such as: governance
systems, screening and assessment, preventative strategies and communication, which
focuses on improvement on safety as well as quality of care for elderly residents
(safetyandquality.gov.au, 2018).
Outline of the policy direction that I would like to recommend

3Ageing health and human services
I would like to recommend the strategic outline as proposed in the Standard 10 of
Preventing Falls and Harm from fall, which includes strategies for governance, screening and
assessment, fall prevention and communication. The outline is given below:
 Ensuring policies, protocols and procedures which are consistent with the best
practice guidelines are used (wherever possible) and utilise screening and assessment
tools.
 Regular monitoring of the use of procedures, policies and protocols to prevent and
reduce risk of falls
 Ensuring regular reporting, investigating and monitoring incidents of falls is utilised
 The frequency and severity of falls in the healthcare facility are monitored and
investigated using administrative and clinical data
 Data on falls are reported to the top levels of governance in the organization
 Taking actions to reduce the frequency as well as severity of falls in the care setup
 Preventing falls and reducing harm to resident through quality improvement
 Ensuring that devices and equipments are available to implement preventative
strategies and management plans to prevent and reduce the harm from falling
 Using screening tools from best practice to identify the risk of falling among older
residents
 Monitoring the use of screening tools in order to identify the proportion of residents at
risk who were screened for falls
 Taking proper action to improve the number of residents being screened for fall risks
during admission as well as upon presentation of an incident of fall
 Using best practice assessment tool for the assessment of residents at risk of falling
 Monitoring the use of assessment tools to identify the proportion of residents who
completed fall assessment

4Ageing health and human services
 Ensuring participation of patients and caregivers while developing or amending
prevention plans.
 Taking proper actions to improve the number of residents undergoing complete
assessment of fall risk
 Using best practice for minimisation of harm and multifactorial prevention of falls,
and recording them in the clinical records of the patient
 Regular monitoring of falls prevention and harm reduction strategies for their
efficiency, appropriateness and effectiveness.
 Taking action to reduce the risk of falls and reduce harm for residents at risk of falling
 Referrals to appropriate service provided upon discharge (wherever possible)
 Information on falls and their prevention strategies are given to the patients as well as
their caregivers in a simple, meaningful and understandable format.
 Developing fall prevention plan in partnership with the patients and caregivers
(safetyandquality.gov.au, 2018).
The stakeholders who needs to be engaged and reasons for doing so
Stakeholders are individuals who are involved or have interest in the aged care system
and include beneficiaries, providers and funders (DefinedTerm: Stakeholders, 2018)
The stakeholders who needs to be engaged in the policies for the prevention and
reduction of injuries due to falls among elderly residents and patients includes: Facility
administration, Care Manager/Director of Nursing, clinical educator, quality assurance
personnel, registered nurses, Care workers, general practitioners, patients and their families,
and government authorities (caresearch.com.au, 2018; Poulton et al. 2017)
The facility administration’s involvement would include vital strategies like planning
and implementation of preventative strategies, and addressing concerns identified by risk

5Ageing health and human services
assessment. They have the overall responsibility of the wellbeing of the residents, ensuring
safety in the care facility, and also monitoring and investigating reports of falls. The
administration can also facilitate the implementation of change processes, outline standards
of best practice, and ensure compliance to preventative practices (Myers et al. 2016).
The care manager can be involved in a more personalized approach of fall prevention
and minimization of harm from falls. They can be involved in the care planning of the
patients, ensuring adequate screening for risks and monitoring of screening efficiency. The
care manager can also overlook the treatment given to the patients. Care managers are often
form the front lines of leadership and are responsible for the day to day operations including
managing and recruiting staff, managing budgets and ensuring the quality of care meets the
national standards of care (Huber, 2017).
Clinical educators or nursing professional development specialists can be involved in
the training of nurses and healthcare professionals. They can ensure that the nurses have the
necessary skills and training to conduct their responsibilities efficiently and effectively. This
also requires coordination with the facility administration to identify training needs as per the
care goals of the organization. The educators can formulate plans and implement training on
strategies to prevent and reduce the risks of falling among the elderly residents (Myer et al.,
2017).
Quality assurance team can be involved to ensure maintenance of standard quality of
care and constantly review the efficacy of the care provided by the organization. They can
also monitor the usage of screening tools and preventative strategies, ensuring their optimum
usage at maximum efficiency (Puri et al. 2018).
Registered nurse can be involved in the provision of specialized care for the elderly
residents, which can reduce the risks of falling. They have specialization in geriatric care, and