Patients’ safety providing in geriatric nursing as a component of nursing care quality

The goal of medical assistance to elderly people, living in long-term social care institutions (such as homes for elderly and disabled people), is to retain patients’ quality of life, that is, to maintain at a minimum level their ability to do such everyday activities as hygienic procedures, dressing or eating, without outside help. The main medical staff providing assistance to the residents of long-term social institutions are geriatric nurses, whose activities largely determine the quality of care provided. The article is about the safety issues of elderly residents, living in long-term social institutions, while nursing care . The safety of older people is inextricably linked to the quality of nursing. The most important safety indicators for elderly patients with limited mobility are indicators, characterizing the prevalence of bedsores and falls in the institution, in many cases leading to serious infections and injuries and significantly reducing patients’ quality of life. This requires nurses, working in such institutions, to have special abilities, skills and competencies. This article provides practical guidance on some of them.