This year we partnered with our customer, Northern Health, to raise awareness about the impact of falls
April Falls Month is an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of falls and promote the latest best practice fall prevention strategies.
This year’s April Falls Month, we have partnered with Northern Health (NH) – a 400 bed facility in Epping, Victoria – to raise awareness and highlight the important role everyone plays in fall prevention, mitigation and reduction.
Uyen Phan, Associate Director Allied Health and Chair of Falls Committee at Northern Health emphasises the importance of fall prevention in hospitals.
“Falls do not only cause significant impact on patients physically and psychologically. It also impacts caregivers and the healthcare system with increased care needs and extended hospital stays,” Uyen explains. “Given this ripple effect, fall prevention should become the responsibility and focus of all.”
Throughout the month, Northern Health and Rauland Australia have joined hands to create different activities aimed at raising awareness. The two partners teamed up to bring to the attention among colleagues and patients at the hospital several initiatives focused on fall mitigation, including having dedicated annunciator displays, handout leaflets and a fall prevention video accessible to staff and patients.
Uyen adds that whilst raising awareness and patient education is important, it is also instrumental for care staff to have the equipment they need to respond timely to patient needs. He highlights how dedicated digital health solutions support NH’s care team in minimising falls by facilitating better communication between carers and patients.
“Your [Responder] nurse call system is not just a nurse call system; it fosters interaction and collaboration, supporting hourly rounding, improved communication and timely responses to patient requests by clinical teams. Incorporating these aspects helps us to greatly minimise falls.”
“We are really keen to work with Rauland Australia on the latest technologies and innovations to tackle falls.”
Solutions in use at Northern Health include the Concentric Care Responder nurse call solution, enabling direct speech communication between patients and clinical staff, alongside workflow terminals that support care efficiency and regular, purposeful rounding. Patients also benefit from access to fall prevention educational resources via the patient engagement and entertainment solution, Concentric Care SmartTV.
Our partnership with Northern Health remains steadfast in minimising and preventing falls for patients, improving patient safety and wellbeing. We encourage everyone to embrace and take an active approach to undertake fall prevention strategies in hospitals to support patient safety for all.
