The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) has released the National Audit of Inpatient Falls (NAIF) 2025 Annual Report, highlighting progress and ongoing challenges in improving patient safety and outcomes for older people at risk of falling in hospital settings.
The report shows continued improvement in the recognition and assessment of falls risk across NHS trusts but identifies variation in post-fall care, particularly around head injury assessment and neurological observation.
Key findings include:
- Overall improvement in the completion of falls risk assessments, ensuring early identification and prevention strategies are in place.
- Inconsistent post-fall management remains a concern, with many hospitals not fully implementing recommended neurological monitoring after a head injury.
- A growing emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration is helping to reduce repeat falls, though more consistent documentation and follow-up are needed.
- The use of electronic records and digital audit tools continues to improve data quality and learning.
- Hospitals that embed human factors and patient involvement in falls prevention strategies demonstrate stronger safety outcomes and learning.
Read more: www.hqip.org.uk/resource/588_naif-fffap
“The MASA considers six actions that should be taken to ensure patients stay as active as possible while in hospital; the aim being to reduce the risk of falls and prevent deconditioning due to inactivity…In 2024 43% had a high quality multifactorial assessment to optimise patient safety”
The report calls for trusts to ensure that falls prevention and post-fall management remain a core part of patient safety strategies, supported by consistent training, data-driven improvement, and board-level oversight.
Findings from this report will be discussed at the upcoming conference:
Falls Prevention Summit: Reducing Inpatient Falls & Harm from Inpatient Falls
Friday 12th December 2025 | 44 Hallam Street, London, OR Virtual, Online
The event will include practical advice on implementing Multifactorial Assessment to Optimise Safe Activity (MASA) which has been developed by the Royal College of Physicians and recommended for use by the National Audit of Inpatient Falls (NAIF), and provide advice on immediate post falls management. The conference will also update delegate on the implications of the Patient Safety Incident Response framework (PSIRF) for falls investigation.
Find out more: https://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/conferences-masterclasses/inpatient-falls-prevention
