Positive Pressure Sore Outcomes at NHS Trust Hospital

Recently nurses at the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation have had a good reason to celebrate. In the last 19 months there have been no reports of patients suffering from severe pressure sores. In the department at the hospital which is responsible for the care of elderly and frail patients over the last 584 day no patient has experienced the pain and suffering caused by severe grade 3 or 4 hospital-acquired ulcers.

This rewarding result is not just good luck, but has occurred because of measures taken by the hospital to ensure patients at risk were monitored and treated appropriately. The initiatives to reduce the incidence of pressure sores all began in October 2016 when the department was determined to get rid of all ulcers acquired in the hospital environment.

The first measures that were taken included providing better training and education for staff and working side by side with what is called the skin integrity team. The aim was to develop a thorough pressure ulcer prevention and management policy. By implementing this there was greater assurance that this debilitating condition was being tackled head on with no room for complacency.

Who was involved in the war on pressure sores?

The whole initiative took place in 14 wards and departments throughout Bassetlaw, Doncaster and Mexborough. Only a year after the start of the fight against pressure sores the group became a finalist in the Nursing Times Awards in 2017 in the ‘Care of Older People’ division. It has quite simply been successful because part of the initiative was to increase the motivation levels of staff who are the ones who have contact with at risk patients. It’s not just a question of training to recognize likely candidates for pressure sores. Staff have been encouraged to go the extra mile and carefully monitor the likely victims so action that’s needed can take place before it’s too late when more resources would have to be used to treat the victims.

What did the initiative include?

One encouragement was displaying signs showing how many days had passed where no acquired pressure ulcers occurred. These were put at the entrances to the wards involved in the initiative. On top of this, one of the key ways to prevent or minimize pressure ulcers was to get the patients at risk to be more mobile. This means they were not left to lie in one position all day and night long. Getting patients to move around the hospital minimizes the chance of pressure sores occurring.

Results of the initiative

Four of the departments had gone 2 years with no evidence of grade 3 and 4 hospital acquired ulcers occurring. Also, two others departments had no severe ulcers developing for 3 years in a row and a further three had reached 5 years without any evidence of pressure sores amongst their patients. What’s even better news is that one ward had managed to go a full 4 months where no hospital acquired pressure sores developing at all. Moira Hardy, Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospital Trust’s director for midwifery and nursing, put the success down to the dedication of the staff who did everything in their powers to attain pressure sore free wards.

Pressure sores are a serious and often common problem anywhere where elderly people or immobile patients are cared for. The success shown by this NHS trust hospital shows that pressure sores are entirely preventable. Where they develop it is usually a result of poor management and negligence. If you have a loved one who is suffering from preventable pressure sores you should discuss filing a personal injury claim against the person or organization responsible for the care of your loved one.