Abstract
A study of falls and other accidental injuries to residents was carried out over a period of 16 months in a council home for elderly people. The location where most falls occurred was the bedroom. A high percentage of falls resulted in no apparent injury. The distribution of falls by time of day was compared with the level of staffing at different times of day and a statistically significant negative association was found. Mortality in residents who had a number of falls was particularly high during the period of the study. Attempts were made to look for preventable factors, and 76 out of the 296 episodes were considered to have been avoidable. The ‘Key Worker’ system is discussed as a possible initiative aimed at the elimination of obvious shortcomings in quality of care. It is proposed that the number of falls occurring in a residential establishment is a useful measure of its performance and should be monitored continuously.
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