Sensor Alarm For Fall Patients

Sensor alarm can help prevent falls

This case study of a sensor alarm system for fall prevention, from Marie Curie Cancer Care, concerns “Patient X”, who was admitted to the Marie Curie Hospice in the West Midlands for respite care. He suffers from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and staff knew that he was at risk of falling, from previous incidents both in the community when attending the day hospice.

Three falls in two days led to one-to-one monitoring

In the first two days of his stay, he had three falls, following which he was given one-to-one monitoring throughout each 24-hour period, until such time as he was discharged to a nursing home, where they continued to give one-to-one supervision, particularly during daytime.

Subsequently, the hospice had a demonstration of Easylink UK’s cordless bed and chair occupancy alarm, and decided to trial the system with Patient X, as an alternative to constant one-to-one monitoring.
 
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Vandalism and tampering resistant design

The bed and chair sensors have a specially moulded pocket that stores a miniature transmitter. When positioned under the mattress or chair cushion, there are no visible signs, which might tempt vandalism or tampering. The sensor transmitter sends signals to the cordless alarm monitor to activate an alarm, or notification of faults such as low transmitter battery.

During the trial, nurses kept a log book, recording each time the sensors were activated – time of day; whether it was the chair or bed sensor; the reason for activation.

Any falls would also have been recorded in the logbook – though since using the sensor, there were none.
 
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Outcome of Use

There was no one-to-one supervision of Patient X (although the bedroom used was visible to nurses)
Initially, there were a few issues while staff got used to the system, but these were soon rectified.

The log only indicates nurses being called a couple of times a day.

As mentioned above, there were no recorded falls.

Observations/Comments

Patient X is fully aware of the reasons behind the trial of the sensors, and understands how the system works.

• He prefers not to have one-to-one supervision
• Being left in his room with a newspaper, drinks on the table and watching TV, is “giving him his independence and life back”
• He has become more communicative, and shows his sense of humour, “teasing” staff about the use of the fall prevention system
• He seems far more “aware”
• As the monitor works independently from the nurse call system, and has an identifiable sound, all staff know that if they hear this alert, they need to attend to Patient X. If it was linked to the hospice buzzer system, it would not be distinguishable from other needs.
• As the system is portable, it can also be taken for use in the day hospice
 
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An overview of the cost implications of the sensor alarm

• The cost of the alarm system is £139 retail
• Cost savings on staff –

Approximate cost of health care assistant giving one-to-one supervision 24 hours per day:
Hourly rate £11.38 × 24 hours = £273.12 per day
£273.12 x 7 days = £1911.84 per week

Approximate cost of health care assistant giving one-to-one supervision 15 hours per day, excluding night-time:
Hourly rate £11.38 × 15 hours = £170.70 per day
£170.70 x 7 days = £1194.90 per week

Summary of costings:

32 days one-to-one supervision – additional staff costs:

24-hour days for 32 days (£273.12 × 32) = £8739.84
15-hour days for 32 days (£170.72 × 32) = £5463.04

11 days with sensor alarm system – no additional staff

£139 for sensor (although it was actually on free trial)
Standard nursing care
 
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Conclusion of the case study

The trial showed that by using the sensor pads with Patient X, there was no need for additional staffing in order to give one-to-one supervision, and therefore considerable implications in reducing both staff costs and patient falls.

Further Resources

You can see more about Easylink UK’s range of alarms and alerts on their showcase page
IL guide to nurse call and patient monitoring is here
The Independent Living fall prevention area is here
MemRabel 4 dementia care aid

 
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