pubmed:abstractText |
Falls in hospital inpatients are common, with reported rates ranging from 3 to 14 per 1,000 bed days. They cause physical and psychological harm, are associated with impaired rehabilitation, increased length of stay and excess cost, and lead to complaints and litigation, making them a crucial area for risk management. A National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) for patient safety incidents in England and Wales was utilised to examine frequency of falls in hospitals specialising in acute care, rehabilitation and mental health; related harm; timing; age and gender of patients who fell; and to draw general lessons from this which might inform fall-prevention strategies.
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