[Prevention of patient's falls in University Hospital to Sassari, Italy]

The University Hospital has addressed the issue of prevention of falls in hospital with some goals: empowerment of practitioners, patients and their families, development of a tool for classification of the patient to the risk of falls, development of an instrument of signal detection and analysis ofthe fall. Were defined: (a) a scale for assessing risk falls, to be completed upon acceptance by the nurse, made up of several indicators with a score corresponding to each of them, can help to define the patient: low risk, medium risk and high risk, (b) a statement of measures to be implemented depending on the severity of the risk falls, (c) a reportingformfor all fall divided into two sections: nursing and medical (d) a brochure to be delivered at the time acceptance in the department that contains behavioral suggestions for patients and families/caregivers, useful for the prevention of falls. Experimentation of the project took place during the months of October-December 2009 in three UU.00. (Clinic Pulmonology, Neurology and Medical Clinic) with a broad membership of the personnel involved (directors, nursing coordinators, Doctors, Nurses). The results of the trial (of 287 total admissions in the three UO involved, with 90% of evaluation forms filled out, reports offalls were 19 (8%), 17 without loss (85%) and 2 with injury (15%), analyzed for both single UO, which together, have allowed the Department to evaluate the project and to act positively in April 2010 approval of the developed tools and their dissemination to all UO inpatient Company. Were analyzed all report forms received from May 2010 to December 2011. The total admissions in University Hospital, for the whole period examined, were 25,847. The U.O. occurred where the falls are 11 reported (in which the total admissions were 13,791). The reports of falls were 55 (0.40%), of which 29 (53%) from the upright position, 18 (33%) falls out of bed, of which 4 (8%) had fallen from the wheelchair seat and # 4 (8%) falls undetectable; 26 without damage (48%) and 29 with damage (53%).