Summary
Pressure ulcers, or bed sores as they are often called, can affect people of all ages. They can lead to serious complications and immense pain for patients, so prevention and awareness is key. Patients with mobility difficulties, conditions affecting blood flow (such as Type 2 Diabetes), and those over 70 are particularly vulnerable.
Stop Pressure Ulcer Day is organised annually by the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel and aims to bring knowledge to a wider audience to reduce the harm caused by pressure ulcers.
In support of the campaign, we're shining a spotlight on 10 fantastic resources that have been shared with us via our patient safety platform - the hub.
Content
Click on the headings below to read more about each resource.
1. Implementing the aSSKINg pressure ulcer care bundle – a blog by Susan Martin
In this blog, Susan Martin, a Tissue Viability Specialist Nurse at East Sussex, describes how she implemented the aSSKINg model (assess risk; skin assessment and skin care; surface; keep moving; incontinence and moisture; nutrition and hydration; and giving information or getting help) for pressure ulcer prevention into her Trust.
2. Skin Assessment: Assessing skin on patients with darker skin tones in relation to PU prevention
In this 56 minute presentation by The Society of Tissue Viability, Jacqui Fletcher looks at how wound care and pressure ulcer prevention can be improved for patients with darker skin tones.
3. Wounds UK: Best Practice Statements
Wounds UK have developed a number of Best Practice Statements, designed to help clinical staff improve wound care. These include:
- Active treatment of non-healing wounds in the community
- Addressing skin tone bias in wound care: Assessing signs and symptoms in people with dark skin tones
- Care of the person with diabetes and lower leg ulcers
- Post operative wound care: reducing the risk of surgical site infection
4. Helping to prevent pressure ulcers: A quick guide for registered managers of care homes (NICE)
Pressure ulcers can be serious and lead to life-threatening complications, such as blood poisoning and gangrene. However, taking some simple steps can reduce the chance of pressure ulcers developing. NICE has produced a quick guide for care home managers.
5. Taking photos of pressure ulcers
In the latest Sussex Community Patient Safety newsletter, staff highlight the importance of photography in wound care and assessment.
6. Embedding skin tone diversity into undergraduate nurse education: Through the lens of pressure injury
This study, published by the Journal of Clinical Nursing, explores health disparity in on-campus undergraduate nurse education through the analysis of teaching and teaching material exploring pressure injuries.
7. Measuring standards of care, not negative outcomes (Interview with Head of Nursing Quality)
In this interview, Head of Nursing Quality Gavin Porter talks about his positive, team-focused approach to improving pressure ulcer outcomes. "Counting the number of pressure ulcers doesn’t really tell you about the standards of pressure ulcer care. I wanted to look at things differently; to focus more on the interventions and good practice that helps keep patients safe."
8. Sign up to safety - pressure ulcers (Barts Health NHS Trust)
In this six minute video, Barts Health NHS Trust explains the measures frontline medical staff can take to help avoid the risk of pressure ulcers using the SSKIN acronym.
9. This Is Nursing podcast: We don't want a good wound. We want to prevent them!
Alison Schofield, Tissue Viability Clinical Nurse Specialist, discusses the challenges facing her role in this current world of nursing, the impact of COVID-19 has had on the delivery of community tissue viability services and on people in receipt of the services in care homes and in their own homes.
10. Pressure Ulcer Path: prevent and treat step by step (NHS Midlands and East)
Research has shown that frontline staff understand the dangers of pressure sores but experience significant challenges in their attempts to prevent them.
NHS Midlands and East has created the Pressure Ulcer Path, a tool to support staff in preventing pressure ulcers and treating them, alongside a number of useful resources.
For more resources, see our dedicated Pressure ulcer section of the hub.
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