Many of the patients who undergo treatment at the Hospital of St Cross are frail and elderly and so have the potential to fall and injure themselves if they attempt to get out of bed unaided.
Staff at the Hospital of St Cross have undertaken a number of initiatives which have greatly reduced the risk of patients suffering harm in this way and the Friends of St Cross have played their part in supporting these.
Beds which can be lowered close to the ground are one of the ways in which falls can be prevented or the risk of serious injury is greatly reduced. The Friends have donated 25 such beds for use throughout the hospital.
The Friends have also donated sensor pads which sound a buzzer which alerts the nursing staff, when a patient starts to get out of bed or up from a bedside chair, so that they can be on hand to lend assistance.
Cheryl Stokes, Clinical Sister on Hoskyn Ward, said “another of the initiatives which has been particularly helpful has been to provide a desk for nurses in each bay in the ward so that they are closer to the patients during quiet times of the day and night. The Friends’ donation of battery-powered night lights mean that the desks can be easily moved to an appropriate location in the bay and there are no trailing wires which, of course, would have been a trip hazard!”
Juliet Starkey, Group Manager at St Cross and Trauma and Orthopaedic Services, said “We have made a number of changes to our clinical procedures to reduce falls. Combined with these fantastic new donations from the Friends of St Cross, we have managed to significantly reduce the number of incidents, and the amount of harm suffered by patients who attempt to move about unaided. We are extremely grateful for the support we have received from the Friends to help us achieve this. The risk of patients falling can never be eliminated but we are confident that staff and the Friends working together in this way will continue to make a real difference for all our patients.”
Photo by Bob Mercer L-R Sister Cheryl Stokes and Group Manager Juliet Starkey with one of the Hi-Lo beds at near to ground level.