Freedom of Information (FOI) The Balfour, Foreland Road, , KW15 1NZ www.ohb.scot.nhs.uk

RE: Freedom of Information Request 202021 / 055 – Falls Data

Your Query Date of Request June 2020 1. I would like to request any data you hold on falls from the last 5 years.

a) I am looking for the total number of falls sorted by hospital from the last 5 years?

b) I am looking for the total number of falls sorted by ward from the last 2 years?

2. I would also like to request all email addresses for ward managers and falls leads/groups within the trust?

3. On average how much does falls cost the trust per year?

Clarification

Question 2 and 3 are an expansion of question 1. I hope this clarifies for you.

In addition please could the data be sorted by the last 5 full calendar years and please include any data that the trust hold for this year too.

Response Please be advised that NHS Orkney is a small remote and rural health board which operates one hospital – the Balfour.

1. a) Please note the methodology for measuring falls locally has changed over time. The methodology used for collecting this data is different from previous years. The data provided excludes any falls as a result of ‘assisted lowering’ which were counted in previous years. The total of excluded falls using the new methodology is 4 for 2019 and 3 for 2020.

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Number of 63 82 113 88 103 *42 patient falls recorded

*As at 25/06/2020.

b) 01/01/2018 - 31/12/2018 Original Balfour Hospital 2018 Assessment and Rehab 26 Acute Ward, Balfour Hospital 53 Accident & Emergency 3 MacMillan House 4 Balfour Hospital, general/public areas 0 Day Surgery 1 Transfer Bed 1 88

01/01/2019 - 31/12/2019 2. David McArthur, Falls Lead - [email protected] Linda Merriman, Clinical Nurse Manager – [email protected] Pamela Walker, Interim Ambulatory Care Manager – [email protected] Carolynn Paterson, Inpatients 1 Senior Charge Nurse – [email protected] Kirsti Jones, Inpatients 2 Senior Charge Nurse – [email protected] Moira Sinclair, Emergency Department Senior Charge Nurse – [email protected]

NHS Orkney’s Ageing Well, Community Falls Prevention Programme is a service with an open referral system, for people at risk of falling, who have had a fall, or for people with increasing frailty. Prior to Covid-19, each individual received a Multi-factorial assessment (in line with National Falls prevention recommendations) in their own home, which included an environmental assessment, as well as strength and balance Original Balfour Hospital outcome measures, provision of Assessment and Rehab 15 equipment, onward referrals for care and repair, community care alarms etc. The patient is then Balfour Hospital, general/public provided with a home exercise programme as areas 2 well as a place at a 12 week strength and Acute Ward, Balfour Hospital 20 balance exercise programme that was delivered MacMillan House 3 in Outpatients, Smiddybrae, Dounby and the 40 Library. The classes were previously referred to as Day Hospital and Falls prevention,

th but essentially they were the same programme The Balfour – 14 June 2019 with 2 levels of exercise intervention. Onwards The Balfour - Inpatients 1 24 The Balfour - Inpatients 2 35 The Balfour - General / Public Areas 2 The Balfour - Macmillan 2 63

The team (all part time) consists of:  Shauna Stockan, Physio as Community Falls Lead – [email protected]  Gail McAndrew, Physio -– [email protected]  Stuart Drummond, Physio Assistant -– [email protected]  Doreen Kane, OT Assistant -– [email protected]  Valerie Scott, Physio Assistant

3. This information is not held centrally or in a fashion that would allow us to easily provide it. This type of information would be recorded in the patient’s personal health record. To collate this information would be a time consuming exercise which we estimate would take several hours and be out with the cost of compliance as this would exceed the £600 prescribed limit set in regulation 5 of the Freedom of Information (Fees for Required Disclosure) () Regulations 2004. Therefore NHS Orkney is not obliged under section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to comply with your request.