Elderly Fallers: A Baseline Audit of Admissions to a Day Hospital for Elderly People

Abstract

Falls in elderly people are a major problem for health and social services because of the incidence of injury and the fear of falling as a disabling consequence (McKee 1998). It seemed that many admissions to a South Buckinghamshire day hospital for elderly people were as a result of falls. A retrospective and concurrent caseload audit was carried out of medical and occupational therapy notes. The aim of the audit was to establish the incidence of falls among the day hospital population, with a view to improving the quality of the service. The data collected included age, diagnosis, functional ability and consequential actions. These items were included by consensus agreement following a literature review. Fifty-six of 196 elderly people admitted over the 12-month period had fallen at least once. Of these, 73% had no apparent predisposing factor for their fall and 39% were not carrying out any obvious activity at the time; 59% had an increase in social support due to decreased confidence and mobility after the fall. A multidisciplinary team approach was reinforced and the management of patients' problems on an individual basis was to be continued. The adoption of the audit data collection form as a checklist to facilitate future assessment was recommended.