The family of a patient at County General Hospital complained when the patient fell in the hospital
The family of a patient at County General Hospital complained when the patient fell in the hospital and broke her hip. The family was threatening a lawsuit, and there had been some negative publicity about the hospital in the local media suggesting that patient falls might be common. The hospital administration decided to investigate this potential problem by developing a control chart based on two years of monthly data for the number of patient falls each month as follows:
| Month | Falls |
| 1 | 3 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 3.5 |
| 5 | 0 |
| 6 | 2 |
| 7 | 2 |
| 8 | 4 |
| 9 | 4 |
| 10 | 2.5 |
| 11 | 1.5 |
| 12 | 3 |
| 13 | 1 |
| 14 | 1 |
| 15 | 4 |
| 16 | 3 |
| 17 | 6 |
| 18 | 3 |
| 19 | 5 |
| 20 | 2 |
| 21 | 1 |
| 22 | 2.5 |
| 23 | 2.5 |
| 24 | 1.5 |
Develop a control chart with 3ÃÆ’ limits to monitor patient falls, and discuss if you think there appears to be a quality problem at the hospital.
