Falls are the leading cause of injury and death in seniors in British Columbia. Over 500 hospitalizations of seniors are a result of falls from their bed at home or in a healthcare residence.
Here are a few suggestions, technology, and products to help prevent falls before they happen:
Proper mattress selection
Select a mattress for the patient based on their needs and mobility issues. This can help prevent entrapment and any issues getting in and out of bed. With specially designed inserts and levelling pads, you can customize the mattress to provide the best support where it’s needed to minimize falls.
Bed rails
Bed rails are a great way to minimize falls in more critical patients. They can be locked in place and lowered when the patient needs to get out of bed assisted or unassisted.
Wireless bed pads
For greater pieces of mind for less critical patients, or patients who need to get out of bed frequently and struggle using bed rails, try a SMART cordless bed pad with sensors to monitor your patients. There are corded monitors on the market, but that adds an increased risk of the patient getting tangled and injured in the cords.
The cordless bed pads are flat and lay on top of the mattress. They monitor movement and can alert a caregiver or nurse when the patient has left the bed or may have fallen out.
The alerting functions can be incorporated into an existing nurse call system too. The great thing about this brand is that they trigger a silent alarm as to not wake others in the room. The alarm only sounds at the nurse’s station. It also includes technology that alerts the caregiver or nurse if the pad gets unplugged or is out of range.
How to prevent falls from beds
The three best ways to prevent falls in seniors or vulnerable patients are by selecting a proper mattress, installing and using bedrails, and adding a wireless bed pad for monitoring. If you need help choosing the right mattresses, rails, and bed pads, browse our website to get in touch with one of our trusted dealers for Essential Medical Products.
International Nurses Day (May 12)
This week we also want to give special recognition and thanks to all the hard-working nurses across our healthcare system. You provide such a high level of care to our seniors and patients in our healthcare system. Thank you for all you do to advance the health and safety of our community.
