Falls in Hospital Causing Injury

Aims: To describe falls causing injury, types of injuries, and the reporting of these falls. Methods: Administrative and incident reporting datasets between July 2012 and June 2017 were analyzed. Results: Using both datasets, 5,653 falls were identified (3.7 per 1,000 bed-days). Administrative and incident datasets accounted for 40.8% (2,299) and 84.4% (4,752) of falls, respectively. More than half the falls in the administrative data required only observation/examination (1,221 falls; 53.1%, 0.8 per 1,000 bed-days). The remaining 1,078 falls (46.9%; 0.7 per 1,000 bed-days) caused 1,533 injuries (1.0 per 1,000 bed-days). Most injuries happened in patients who were 65 years or older (73.9%), during the first episode of care (79.0%), in the acute care setting (70.4%), or on the same level (60.1%). The most common injuries were to the head (33.3%). Some injuries were serious (169; 11.0%; 0.11 per 1,000 bed-days). Falls resulting in injury in older patients, with a more severe medical condition and at smaller hospitals, were more likely to be recorded in the incident reporting system whereas subsequent falls were less likely to be recorded. Conclusions: Fewer than half of the falls recorded in administrative data resulted in injuries. A tenth of all falls caused serious injuries.