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Perrrin C1
1HUG HES Physiothérapie Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
Background: In February 2016, The geriatric departmement at the Geneva hospital set up a project involving a labelling system for patients' walking aids.
The color coding provides accurate information relating to the current level of mobility and independence the patient has achieved.
The labelling is a solution to the need for increasing and stimulating patient mobility as well as providing a risk management system by the use of 4 colors related to patient ability as well as additional therapist indications on the cards
Purpose: The principal objectives:
- Sharing of accurate information on patient independence throughout the cares
- Participate in the detection and the prevention of falls risk
- Stimulate the mobility of the patients
- Accentuate the safety of the patients through improved interactions carers/patients.
Methods: 3 axes of activity are defined:
- Quality of the sitting/standing transfers
- Quality and distance of walking with the walking aids as evaluated by the physiotherapist
- level of assistance required to carry out transfers and moving safely.
NB: the notion of distance which the patient can walk gives information about the capacity of the patients to access the various places in hospital wards
The Modalities:
- Hospital staff education: interpretation of the color codes and notes with standardized symbols, patient handling and verbal guidance, raising awareness of the postures at risk of causing a fall.
- Labels with patient´s name:
The physiotherapist evaluates the patient's abilities in walking and transfers prior to allocating the following labels
Two colored labels are attached to walking aids providing information on Sit to Stand transfer
Yellow: Sit to Stand transfer with assistance
Green: Sit to Stand transfer independent
2 colored labels are attached tot he walking aide providing information on level of independence of walking:
Orange: Walks with assistance
Blue: Walks independently for at least 100m
The code alternate hot and cold colors for helped or not moving
- Standardized notes on labels: supervision, verbal note, physical help, material help
- Free notes: few words to make explicit and safety the helps
NB: the choice of colored labels and the notes are realized according physiotherapy assessment tools.
Results:
- Targeted prevention: fight against prolonged bed rest and risk of falling, the patient is mobilized according to his possibilities.
- Save time and security
- Repetition of instructions and good gestures = activation factor of the patient´s procedural memory, "search for automatisms"
- Simple and shared multidisciplinary tool: best practices and up-to-date knowledge, operational speed
- Protected Movements: Achievable and useful walking perimeter
- Extensive target audience
-Team dynamics:caregivers active participation , collaborative development between physiotherapists
- Nominative labels
- Decrease of 18.9% of falls in the pilot corridor over 6 months
- full of positive answers to satisfaction-questionnary.
Conclusion(s): Faced with a frequent problem like falls =
only a multifactorial answer is relevant, the multidisciplinary action coordinated by the color code is a very good illustration.
Assets and KPIs:
Ease of use
innovative, highly appreciated by users
Tool quickly integrated into care units
Virtuous circle around patient mobility and falls prevention
Implications: - an good answer against very important cost of intra-hospital falls
- security for mooving patients.
Keywords: fall-risk prevention, mobility, communication
Funding acknowledgements: HUG
The color coding provides accurate information relating to the current level of mobility and independence the patient has achieved.
The labelling is a solution to the need for increasing and stimulating patient mobility as well as providing a risk management system by the use of 4 colors related to patient ability as well as additional therapist indications on the cards
Purpose: The principal objectives:
- Sharing of accurate information on patient independence throughout the cares
- Participate in the detection and the prevention of falls risk
- Stimulate the mobility of the patients
- Accentuate the safety of the patients through improved interactions carers/patients.
Methods: 3 axes of activity are defined:
- Quality of the sitting/standing transfers
- Quality and distance of walking with the walking aids as evaluated by the physiotherapist
- level of assistance required to carry out transfers and moving safely.
NB: the notion of distance which the patient can walk gives information about the capacity of the patients to access the various places in hospital wards
The Modalities:
- Hospital staff education: interpretation of the color codes and notes with standardized symbols, patient handling and verbal guidance, raising awareness of the postures at risk of causing a fall.
- Labels with patient´s name:
The physiotherapist evaluates the patient's abilities in walking and transfers prior to allocating the following labels
Two colored labels are attached to walking aids providing information on Sit to Stand transfer
Yellow: Sit to Stand transfer with assistance
Green: Sit to Stand transfer independent
2 colored labels are attached tot he walking aide providing information on level of independence of walking:
Orange: Walks with assistance
Blue: Walks independently for at least 100m
The code alternate hot and cold colors for helped or not moving
- Standardized notes on labels: supervision, verbal note, physical help, material help
- Free notes: few words to make explicit and safety the helps
NB: the choice of colored labels and the notes are realized according physiotherapy assessment tools.
Results:
- Targeted prevention: fight against prolonged bed rest and risk of falling, the patient is mobilized according to his possibilities.
- Save time and security
- Repetition of instructions and good gestures = activation factor of the patient´s procedural memory, "search for automatisms"
- Simple and shared multidisciplinary tool: best practices and up-to-date knowledge, operational speed
- Protected Movements: Achievable and useful walking perimeter
- Extensive target audience
-Team dynamics:caregivers active participation , collaborative development between physiotherapists
- Nominative labels
- Decrease of 18.9% of falls in the pilot corridor over 6 months
- full of positive answers to satisfaction-questionnary.
Conclusion(s): Faced with a frequent problem like falls =
only a multifactorial answer is relevant, the multidisciplinary action coordinated by the color code is a very good illustration.
Assets and KPIs:
Ease of use
innovative, highly appreciated by users
Tool quickly integrated into care units
Virtuous circle around patient mobility and falls prevention
Implications: - an good answer against very important cost of intra-hospital falls
- security for mooving patients.
Keywords: fall-risk prevention, mobility, communication
Funding acknowledgements: HUG
Topic: Older people; Disability & rehabilitation; Older people
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: HUG
Ethics committee: HUG
Reason not required: not needed
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
