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This conference focuses on the prevention and management of pressure ulcers including monitoring, reporting and improvement.
“Pressure ulcers are a key indicator of the quality and experience of patient care. Despite progress since 2012 in the management of pressure ulcers they remain a significant healthcare problem, with over 1,300 new ulcers reported each month with up to 200,000 people developing a new pressure ulcer in 2017/18. Treating pressure ulcers costs the NHS more than £1.4 million every day (Guest et al 2017).We know that many pressure ulcers are preventable, so when they do occur they can have a profound impact on the overall wellbeing of patients and can be both painful and debilitating. Preventing them will improve care for all vulnerable patients.”
NHS Improvement
“Pressure ulcer prevention and management is an art as well as a science…different people with similar conditions need different care and that care should be holistic and tailored to the individual.”
Linda Nazarko OBE Consultant Nurse West London Mental Health NHS Trust, October 2019
The conference includes a choice of streams in the afternoon focusing on:
Stream A: Sustaining Pressure Ulcer Prevention
This stream will focus on sustainability of pressure ulcer prevention through the introduction consistent processes and practice to eliminate pressure ulcers, and managing them effectively if they do occur. The stream will consider the factors that increase the risk of pressure ulcer development and also look at a case study focusing on reducing pressure ulcers in older people living with frailty.
Stream B: Reducing and Managing Pressure Ulcers at the End of Life
Wounds are a common occurrence in patients with terminal illnesses, it has been estimated that approximately one third of palliative care patients will experience a pressure ulcer. Pressure wounds are seen most often in elderly and terminally ill patients as a result skin failure — a naturally occurring process commonly associated with terminal illness wherein the skin begins to break down and die. At the end of life multiple risk factors can lead to pressure ulcers. The prevention and management of pressure ulcers at the end of life must also be balanced alongside the patients preferences presenting ethical dilemmas such as when prevention and active management should stop in the last days of life. This stream focuses on the reduction and management of pressure ulcers at the end of life, from risk assessment to controlling pain and discomfort in the last days of life.
This conference will enable you to:
- Network with colleagues who are working to improve the measurement, reporting and reduction of pressure ulcers and harm from pressure ulcers
- Reflect on national developments and learning including recommendations to reduce unwarranted variation, improve safety and optimise patient experience and outcomes
- Learn from outstanding practice in pressure ulcer reporting
- Change the way you view pressure ulcers – eliminating the focus on avoidability
- Developing effective training and education of frontline staff that will empower frontline teams to take ownership for improving care processes and preventing pressure ulcers
- Understand how you can reduce pressure ulcers and harm from pressure ulcers
- Improve sustainability in the reduction of pressure ulcers
- Understand the factors that increase the risk of pressure ulcer development
- Develop a better understanding of pressure ulcer prevention at the end of life
- Reflect on a case study in reducing pressure ulcers in older people living with frailty
- Improve your skills in Root Cause Analysis and investigation of pressure ulcer incidents including the Duty of Candour
- Ensure you are up to date with the latest evidence and definitions
- Self assess and reflect on your own practice
- Gain CPD accreditation points contributing to professional development and revalidation evidence
