Falls prevention
Falls are a significant cause of potential harm in health care, and are a national safety and quality priority.
Identifying and managing the risk of harm from falls forms part of the Comprehensive Care Standard.
Updated Falls Guidelines
The Commission is updating the Best Practice Guidelines for Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People (Falls Guidelines).
The Falls Guidelines provide updated recommendations and good practice points based on the best available evidence and expert opinion for three settings:
- Falls Guidelines for Residential Aged Care Services
- Falls Guidelines for Community Care
- Falls Guidelines for Hospitals
A suite of resources will be released in 2025, including the Falls Guidelines, Reference Documents and fact sheets.
More information
Public consultation on the Falls Guidelines closed on 20 November 2024.
To be kept informed about the release of the Falls Guidelines and aged care updates, subscribe here.
For further information, please email agedcarestandards@safetyandquality.gov.au
NSQHS Standards (second edition)
Falls remain a major safety and quality risk in health service organisations. Falls prevention and harm minimisation plans based on best practice and evidence can improve patient outcomes.
Delirium should be considered a risk factor for falls. Refer to Action 5.29 and the Delirium Clinical Care Standard for strategies to manage risks of harm related to delirium.
Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People: Best Practice Guidelines 2009
The Commission has also developed best practice guidelines for Australian Hospitals, Residential Aged Care Facilities and Community Care to help reduce the number of falls and resulting harm experienced by older people in care.
Addendum
Recent evidence related to asymptomatic bacteriuria has found that treatment with antibiotics is only required in very limited circumstances. Only where a patient meets the criteria set out in the Therapeutics Guidelines Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria: 2019 should a urinalysis test be conducted. These Guidelines for Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls have been updated to reflect this new advice.
For more information, refer to the fact sheet:
Asymptomatic bacteriuria: reducing inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing for aged care facility residents
Guidebook for Preventing Falls and Harm from Falls in Older People
A short version, or guidebook was also developed: