A STUDY into the amount of slips, trips and falls in community hospitals in Worcestershire has found a generally even spread of incidents across the week.

At a meeting of the governing board of Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust on Wednesday, March 12 showed the amount of such incidents across the county had fluctuated over the past 12 months but had increased overall from 54 in February 2013 to 85 in January 2014.

Plans to introduce seven-day working were discussed at January’s meeting of the board, where it was questioned whether there were more falls during the weekend when more staff were available.

But a report presented at this week’s meeting showed the greatest amount of falls over the past six months took place on Thursdays, with roughly the same amount on Saturdays and Sundays as the other days of the week.

Speaking at the meeting at Worcester’s County Hall, board member Sandra Brennan said every time a patient falls over at one of the community hospitals in the county staff hold a round-table discussion to consider how the incident could have been avoided and what action could be taken to prevent a repeat.