2280 A QIP to improve pain Management in Elderly Patients presenting with falls to a&E and being referred to the OPAL team
M Rahman, R Danby, A Al-Mahdi, A GuptaAbstract
Introduction
Falls account for one of the most common and serious issues contributing to a disability, especially among elderly individuals (1). Injuries resulting from a fall range from mild to severe, but they are all usually painful (2). According to RCEM ‘Recognition and alleviation of pain should be a priority when treating the ill and injured’(3). The aim of this project was to improve pain management in patients with falls being referred to the OPAL team. Studies have shown that patients whose primary pain is well managed and treated in the ED have a higher overall satisfaction with hospital services (4).
Method
Two PDSA cycles have been completed. Initial data was collected retrospectively from 3/9/23 to 9/9/23 to gather baseline information on current practice. Data was collected from hospital patient’s electronic records. This was followed by teaching sessions and poster distribution to improve staff education highlighting ways to address pain and its management. Post intervention data was collected from 11/12/23–17/12/23. Duplicate records and non-fallers were excluded.
Result
Initial data was collected on total 75 patients which showed nearly 50% of the patients were in pain when referred to OPAL team. Among the patients in pain, OPAL team advised for pain relief in only 1/3rd of them. Following intervention, data was collected on 57 patients following exclusion. It showed only 26.3% of the patients were in pain at the time of referral, a significant improvement from nearly half in the previous cycle. Also, OPAL team advised regarding pain relief in almost all patients in pain. As a result, 79% of the patient were pain free during OPAL assessment.
Conclusion
The QIP showed importance of staff education in improving pain management in elderly patients presenting with falls. Further PDSA cycles are planned to sustain the current improvement in practice.