Preventing Falls and Responding Well

Falls are Australia's leading cause of injury hospitalisation and injury death, and the risk rises sharply with age and with many kinds of disability. This lesson explains why a fall is more than a bump: it can cause fractures, head injuries and long periods on the floor, and it often leaves a person frightened to move, which weakens them further and raises the risk of the next fall. Key points: most falls can be prevented, prevention is part of every shift, and this course builds knowledge only. It does not replace a nationally accredited first aid certificate.

Most falls happen because several risk factors combine. This lesson looks at the personal factors you will see every day: medicines that cause drowsiness or dizziness, low blood pressure when standing, urgency to get to the toilet, poor vision, unsafe footwear, muscle weakness, and changes in thinking such as dementia or delirium. Key points: risk changes from day to day, a new medicine or an infection can suddenly raise risk, and the changes you notice on shift are valuable information. Tell your team leader when you see a change so the person's falls risk can be reviewed.

Many falls happen at home and in familiar places, often on the same level through a slip, trip or stumble. This lesson covers the environmental hazards you can fix during a shift: clutter and cords on the floor, wet or slippery surfaces, poor lighting especially at night, loose rugs, furniture that is too low or unstable, and items stored out of reach. Key points: check the space as you work, keep walkways clear, turn on lights, keep frequently used items within easy reach, and respect that it is the person's home, so agree changes with them and report hazards you cannot fix.

Many people we support have a falls risk assessment and a plan that sets out how to keep them safe. This lesson explains how to follow that plan on every shift, including supervision levels, toileting routines, footwear, sensor mats and the equipment the person uses. It also covers supporting mobility aids: making sure walking frames, sticks and wheelchairs are within reach, in good repair and used as the physiotherapist prescribed. Key points: read the plan before you start, never change prescribed equipment or supervision yourself, encourage the person to stand slowly, and report worn or broken aids straight away.

What you do in the first few minutes after a fall can prevent further harm. This lesson sets out the approach: stay calm, make the area safe, reassure the person and ask them to stay where they are, check whether they are responsive and breathing, and look for injury, pain, bleeding or signs of a head strike. Key points: do not rush to lift the person, treat an unwitnessed fall as a possible head injury, call triple zero for serious injury or if the person is unresponsive, and follow your first aid training and our procedure. This lesson does not replace a nationally accredited first aid certificate.

Lifting a person off the floor by hand is one of the most dangerous tasks in care work, both for the person and for you. This lesson explains why you must never lift someone manually after a fall, how to decide with your team leader or on call manager whether the person can get up, and the safe options: guiding a person who is uninjured to get up themselves in stages, or using lifting equipment such as a floor lifting cushion or hoist, only if you are trained. Key points: if injury is possible, leave the person where they are, keep them comfortable and wait for help.

Some injuries from a fall do not show up straight away. This lesson explains why we observe people closely in the hours and days after a fall, especially after a head strike, an unwitnessed fall, or when the person takes blood thinning medicines, which raise the risk of bleeding around the brain. Key points: follow the observation schedule set by our procedure or the health professional, watch for headache, vomiting, drowsiness, confusion, weakness or changes in behaviour, look for new pain or reluctance to walk, and call triple zero or tell your team leader straight away if anything changes.

Every fall must be reported and recorded, even when there is no injury, because each one tells us something about the person's risk. This lesson explains what to include in an incident report: the facts of what you saw and did, the time, injuries, who was told and the observations completed. It covers telling your team leader straight away, informing family or supporters in line with the person's wishes and our procedure, and how our managers decide whether a fall must be notified to the NDIS Commission or the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Key points: record facts not guesses, and help review the falls risk plan.

This case study follows Beatriz, an older woman living in residential aged care who gets up several times a night to use the toilet. She has had a recent near miss and has been prescribed a walking frame, which she does not like using. The lesson shows how her support worker notices the risk, reports it, respects her choices and works with the team on changes to her falls risk plan, such as a toileting routine and better lighting. Key points: report near misses, respect dignity of risk, involve the person in decisions and follow the updated plan.

This case study follows Dev, a man in his fifties with Parkinson's disease who lives in supported accommodation. His support worker arrives in the morning to find him sitting on the bathroom floor, and nobody saw the fall. The lesson walks through stop, check, then act, why an unwitnessed fall is treated as a possible head strike, deciding with the team leader whether it is safe for him to get up, and what to record and hand over. Key points: stay calm, keep the person still while you check, never lift by hand, get advice, observe and report.