Assessing falls in older people.

For an older person in hospital a fall can have devastating consequences, prolonging hospital stay and leading to loss of confidence. Falls cost the NHS between pounds 5340 and pounds 12,500 per patient in delayed discharge, and can cause nurses to question their own practice and blame themselves. Further, the efforts of clinicians and researchers implementing falls prevention interventions are hampered because of inconsistencies in assessing risk. The use of falls risk assessment tools varies throughout the U.K. In Scotland some hospitals use them while others do not. Unlike England and Wales, Scotland has no national guidelines. To deal with this problem, the authors conclude that it is important to develop an evidence-based guideline that covers the whole of the UK.