THE number of falls suffered by patients at Croydon University Hospital has reduced by more than 30 per cent in the last 18 months.
The hospital has this week hailed the success of its new Falls Prevention Group.
Led by a consultant and a head of nursing, the group has introduced several changes to improve patient care including providing non-slip socks to all in-patients and dedicated ward rounds to monitor patients, such as the elderly, deemed most at risk.
The result is a drop in the number of falls per month, from 100 in April 2011 to around 70 per month now.
Dr Wallace Tan, the consultant who chairs the group, said: "Falls can lead to severe injury, even death, so this is a really important issue for us.
"Our work is paying dividends but we are not complacent and will continue to do everything possible to eradicate avoidable falls."
