Sample policy · Adult social care

Falls prevention and management policy (adult social care)

Statutory anchor: Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment), Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2936). This policy also engages Regulation 17 (good governance) and Regulation 20 (duty of candour). · primary source

1. What the regulation says

Care and treatment must be provided in a safe way for service users. (Reg 12(1) (the headline duty))

assessing the risks to the health and safety of service users of receiving the care or treatment, (Reg 12(2)(a) (risk assessment))

doing all that is reasonably practicable to mitigate any such risks, (Reg 12(2)(b) (risk mitigation))

ensuring that the premises used by the service provider are safe to use for their intended purpose and are used in a safe way, (Reg 12(2)(d) (premises safety))

ensuring that the equipment used by the service provider for providing care or treatment to a service user is safe for such use and is used in a safe way, (Reg 12(2)(e) (equipment safety))

The full text of the regulation is at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/2936/regulation/12. Where this policy and the regulation diverge, the regulation wins.

2. Plain-English summary

Care and treatment must be provided in a safe way. The regulation lists the areas a provider must address, including risk assessment, risk mitigation, staff competence, safe premises, safe equipment, sufficient equipment and medicines, medicines safety, infection prevention and shared-care planning. Regulation 12 is central to CQC's safety expectations.

For falls, this means the service must assess each person's falls risk, do all that is reasonably practicable to reduce avoidable risk, keep premises and equipment safe, respond appropriately after a fall, and review patterns so the service keeps learning.

3. Purpose

This policy sets out how the Service assesses falls risk, reduces avoidable risk, responds after a fall and learns from falls patterns across the Service.

The Service must verify this policy against current NICE falls guidance, CQC source material, local falls pathway and local emergency escalation routes before adoption.

4. Sources to verify before adoption

5. Scope

This policy applies to:

The Service treats falls as a safety, care-planning and governance issue. A fall is not treated as inevitable because a person is older, frail or living with dementia.

5.1 Roles and responsibilities

6. Falls prevention and response workflow

For every new risk, near fall or fall, staff use this workflow:

  1. Protect and assess: make the person and area safe, identify urgent clinical concerns and follow the local post-fall protocol.
  2. Record the event: enter the facts, observations, advice, contacts and immediate actions as soon as practicable, normally before the end of the shift.
  3. Reassess risk: update the comprehensive falls assessment and care plan rather than relying on a prediction score alone.
  4. Assign controls: name the person responsible for environmental, equipment, medicines, mobility or referral action and set a review date.
  5. Check effectiveness: confirm whether each action was completed and whether risk, confidence or mobility changed.
  6. Review patterns: link repeat events to the risk register and governance review so recurring causes are not managed as isolated falls.

6.1 Falls risk assessment

The Service completes a falls risk assessment:

The assessment considers:

The Service verifies the assessment content against current NICE guidance and local falls pathway before adoption.

7. Environmental risk factors

Staff check the environment for avoidable falls risk.

Checks include:

Environmental risks are recorded in the care plan or premises record and assigned to an owner for action.

8. Mobility and footwear assessment

The care plan records the person's mobility, transfer support and footwear needs.

The assessment includes:

Staff seek occupational therapy, physiotherapy, podiatry or GP input where risk cannot be managed by routine care planning.

9. Post-fall management

After a fall or suspected fall, staff:

  1. stay with the person and make the area safe
  2. assess for immediate danger within their training
  3. do not move the person until safe to do so
  4. call emergency services where required by clinical presentation or local protocol
  5. seek senior staff or clinical advice where the person is injured, unwell, taking anticoagulants or cannot give a reliable account
  6. record observations and actions taken
  7. inform the Registered Manager or senior person on duty
  8. inform family or representative according to the care plan and consent position
  9. record the fall in the incident register
  10. review the care plan and falls risk assessment

The Service does not use this policy as a clinical algorithm. Staff follow current first-aid training, local falls pathway and emergency escalation advice.

10. Medical escalation criteria

Staff seek urgent medical advice or emergency support where the person's presentation, injury, symptoms or history indicates risk.

The local post-fall protocol includes escalation prompts for:

The Service verifies these prompts against current local NHS falls pathway and clinical advice before adoption.

11. Documentation

The incident record includes:

Staff record facts and avoid blame language.

12. Pattern detection across the Service

The Registered Manager reviews falls patterns at least monthly.

The review considers:

Patterns are reported to the governance group and converted into improvement actions where needed.

13. Multi-disciplinary input

The Service seeks input from relevant professionals where falls risk is repeated, complex or increasing.

This may include:

The care plan records advice received and whether it was implemented.

14. Equipment, adaptations and falls champion

The Service keeps equipment and adaptations under review.

Equipment may include:

The falls champion supports staff practice by:

The falls champion does not replace the Registered Manager's accountability.

15. Audit cadence

The Registered Manager audits falls practice at least quarterly.

The audit sample includes:

Review cadence: annual or on regulatory change, whichever sooner. Owner: Registered Manager.

15.1 Related policies and records

16. Sources and further reading

This template is based on CQC's guidance for providers and managers, the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, and other topic-specific legislation and guidance listed below. It is a starting point for adaptation, not a substitute for legal, clinical, HR, safeguarding or specialist professional advice.

17. When to seek further advice

Seek specialist advice where the issue involves serious harm, safeguarding, deprivation of liberty, restraint, children, professional misconduct, controlled drugs, radiation, termination of pregnancy, infection outbreak, water safety, employment dismissal, DBS barring referral, or regulatory enforcement.

18. Document control

Version Date Author Changes
v1 2026-06-10 Verivius (sample) Initial sample template, conformed to the Verivius policy standard.
v1.1 2026-07-19 Verivius (sample) Updated the NICE anchor and added named ownership, an end-to-end workflow and linked companion policies.

This sample policy template was issued by Verivius. It is a template, not a substitute for legal advice or the provider's own policy-development process. Where this template and live law or regulator guidance diverge, the live source wins.

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Last reviewed 19 July 2026