Hourly Rounds to prevent Patient Falls

Hourly Rounds to prevent Patient Falls

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Hourly Rounds to prevent Patient Falls

Patient care and satisfaction is usually at the forefront of every healthcare providing facility and hospital. The main person often in direct contact with the patient in most cases from the time of admission to the time of discharge is usually the nurse. It is for this reason that several theories have been proposed to improve patient care and maximize patient safety. In the recent past, there have been several instances of patient falls within the in-patient facilities. This, compounded with their initial illness worsens their prognosis and complicates their present management. This is especially seen in epileptics, head injury patients and geriatric with loss of balance and trauma patients among several others.

It is because of this reason that I came up with a theory that will see a reversal and possible prevention of the instances of falls within the wards. The main component of the theory involves hourly reviews of patients. It seeks to put in place a strategy that will see the nurses conduct ward rounds every hour on the admitted patients. They will therefore be mandated to examine and assess the state of the patients after every hour. This is in contrast to the current arrangement in which patients are reviewed after several hours. This strategy will ensure that patients’ needs are addressed as required and that will limit their movement which most of the time lead to falls. This will also ensure that the convulsing patients are well secured within their beds to prevent their falling. Hourly rounds also give patients a forum to express and request for their needs which then get to be addressed as soon as they occur.

Within these rounds as, a nurse may stumble upon a patient having a fit unexpectedly. With the nurse present at hand, the patient will be able to be managed immediately and secured safely in bed preventing an impending fall. Also, the nurse may be able to notice vomitus, blood, urine or spilled material and alert the cleaners who will then clear this up to prevent possible falls. The theory will be incorporated into the project as a part of the preventive solutions within the nursing care. It has always been stated that prevention is better than cure. Hourly rounds and reviews on patients is a great preventive mechanism to several patient falls which then translates into better patient outcomes and decreases patient morbidity and mortality.