PATIENT falls at Salisbury hospital have dropped by more than half – beating a target to cut the number of injuries.

Salisbury District Hospital has reduced the number of patients who fall while in the hospital by 54%, better than NHS national average, delivering an improvement a year ahead of schedule.

Nationally, patient falls in hospital are the most commonly reported adverse event that can cause injury.

The hospital said, thanks to a combination of comprehensive training, process improvements and the establishment of a multi-professional falls prevention group, the facility had beaten the three-year target of a 30% reduction.

Angie Ansell, deputy chief nursing officer, said: “Our aim is for our patients to be as safe as possible while in our care.

“By collectively focusing our efforts to prevent patients from falling, we are improving their overall care and experience, and reducing their length of stay.

“This is good for the patient and good for the hospital.”

The hospital continues to monitor patient falls, along with other key metrics of patient safety and wellbeing, and is implementing more improvements to reduce the number of falls further, she added.