Why I volunteered for the FRAMES project, by Eva Davison

My name is Eva.  I am one of the lay researchers involved in the FRAMES Project.  Since retiring almost four years ago, I have been involved in quite a few volunteer projects, but I feel that this project could possibly be one of the most worthwhile.   I am particularly interested in improving the situation regarding hospital falls in older patients, but I am also very aware that hospital falls are not something that only happens to older people.

The catastrophic impact of falls

My interest in this project is partly driven by personal experience.  My lovely, healthy and vibrant mother had a bad fall many years ago and as a result her life changed dramatically and it had a devastating impact on the whole family.   I had intended to tell her story in this blog, but even after all this time, it was just too painful to recall.  I had hoped over the years that things would improve.  Having worked for many years in the NHS, I did know there were national guidelines in place, which were meant to prevent this sort of thing happening.   However, eight years ago, I was in hospital recovering from major surgery. There was a graph on the notice board opposite the nurses’ station.  It indicated the number of falls that had happened on my ward in the past month.  It compared it to the falls in the previous month and then in the previous year.  Yes, there had been a marked improvement month on month – but I was still quite shocked.  I was on a female oncology ward.  I was 59 years old and probably the oldest patient on the ward.  We were relatively young and were being treated in a modern cancer hospital – this hospital was noted for saving people’s lives – so why were patients still injuring themselves in falls? 

Then, as recently as 18 months ago, my sister was in hospital after having a pacemaker fitted.  The patient in the bed next to her had a dizzy turn in the toilets.  This resulted in a fall and she broke her ankle.  I know these are isolated incidents in different hospitals in different parts of the country, but sometimes it does seem that nothing much has improved since my mother’s fall so many years ago. 

Making improvements

I know it will be almost impossible to eradicate all falls in hospital – but I am convinced that there must be something that can be done to dramatically reduce the number, which in some areas remains stubbornly too high.  I would also like to see something put in place to ensure that the policies and guidelines that already exist across the NHS to prevent falls are properly put into place in all NHS settings.  Hospital falls often have catastrophic outcomes for patients and their families and I would like to help contribute in a small way to making a difference to this.