Post Fall Multidisciplinary Management Guidelines and Tools

Falls and falls-related injuries cause substantial morbidity and mortality among older Australians. The hospital setting is associated with an increased risk of falling among older people due to additional falls risk factors from illness and to being in an unfamiliar environment.

The Post Fall Multidisciplinary Management Guidelines for Western Australian Health Care Settings 2023 (PDF 895KB) | (Word 826KB) provide evidence-based guidance for use by all health professionals to reduce the risk of further falls and harm from falls. They contain specific clinical guidelines to guide post fall care for nursing, medical, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and pharmacy health professionals.

The Guidelines apply to general adult in-patients who have sustained a fall in any WA health hospital, health service or multi-purpose site.

Highlights of the Guidelines

• Alignment with the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (external site)
• Updated interventions that reflect the latest evidence-based practice
• Additional templates, tools and information, such as post fall documentation tools for the patient’s health record and a multidisciplinary falls prevention plan.

Tools

• Health advice following a fall (PDF 63KB) | (Word 110KB)
• Educational overview of the Post Fall Multidisciplinary Management Guidelines for Western Australian Health Care Settings 2023 (PPT 2.1MB)
• Occupational therapy educational overview (PPT 1.4MB)
• Physiotherapy educational overview (PPT 1.7MB)
• Pharmacy educational overview (PPT 1.3MB)
• Interprofessional Post Fall Assessments for Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy

How the Guidelines were developed

The Post Fall Multidisciplinary Management Guidelines for Western Australian Health Care Settings were originally adapted and developed in 2013 from the Post Fall Policy of Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Since then, the Guidelines have been regularly reviewed and updated. Reviews include literature searches, expert opinion, and consensus. These are undertaken by a multidisciplinary group of health professionals from across public, private, and rural/metropolitan facilities in WA.

Within the Guidelines there are specific post fall assessment guidelines for individual disciplines. Each of these was developed by a discipline-specific group and in consultation with all members of the working group. This method ensured the guidelines were evidenced based, practical and applicable. At each review electronic surveys provide essential consultation and feedback from consumers and health professionals and Aboriginal health workers from health care facilities both public and private across WA.

Contact

Falls Management
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital | Level 1, A Block | 
Hospital Avenue, NEDLANDS WA 6009
Falls.ManagementWA@health.wa.gov.au