This course teaches a practical, evidence-based approach to preventing falls in hospital and community settings, and to caring for a patient safely after a fall. It covers multifactorial falls risk assessment, targeted interventions, post-fall checks for head and spinal injury, safe lifting from the floor, documentation and learning from incidents, with worked examples and a case study.
What you will learn
- Explain why falls matter and identify the main risk factors for falls in older adults and inpatients.
- Carry out a multifactorial falls risk assessment and plan individualised, targeted interventions, rather than relying on risk prediction tools.
- Perform a structured post-fall assessment, including checks for head injury, spinal injury and fracture, before moving the patient.
- Choose safe methods and equipment to lift a patient from the floor and know when not to move them.
- Document a fall accurately, report it, communicate with the patient and family, and reflect on how to prevent a recurrence.
Course content
- Why falls matter (2 min)
- Multifactorial falls risk assessment (5 min)
- Prevention in practice: hospital and community (2 min)
- Immediately after a fall: assessing before moving (5 min)
- Ongoing observation, documentation and reporting (2 min)
- Case study: a fall with a delayed recognition of injury (3 min)
- Remediation and improvement plan (1 min)
- Knowledge check (10 questions, 10 min)
- Guided reflection (15 min)
Standards and guidance covered
- NICE NG249: Falls: assessment and prevention in older people and in people 50 and over at higher risk (2025), which updated and replaced CG161
- NICE: Head injury: assessment and early management (NG232)
- NICE: Hip fracture: management (CG124)
- Royal College of Physicians: National Audit of Inpatient Falls and its post-fall recommendations
- World Falls Guidelines: World guidelines for falls prevention and management for older adults (2022)
- NMC: The Code (2015, updated 2018)
- HCPC: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics (2024) and the relevant standards of proficiency
Certificate
Courses are free to study. When you pass the knowledge check (80%) and complete your reflection, you can buy a verified certificate showing your CPD time, with a unique ID and QR code that anyone can check on our verification page.
Study free at your own pace on any device.
Practitioner Insight is an independent education provider. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the GMC, MPTS, NMC, HCPC, GPhC or any NHS organisation, and this information is not legal advice. If you have been referred to a regulator, speak to your defence organisation, trade union or legal representative.