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This conference focuses on the prevention and management of pressure ulcers including monitoring, reporting and improvement and will focus on Learning from the Inaugural National Pressure Ulcer Prevalence and Quality of Care Audit and reflecting on the challenges of Covid-19. The conference will open with National Developments from the National Wound Care Strategy Programme, learning from the inaugural Stop the Pressure: National Pressure Ulcer Prevalence and Quality of Care Audit and understanding Pressure Ulcers and Covid-19. The conference will continue with a focus on training and educating frontline staff, and an extended masterclass on Pressure Ulcer Assessment, Reporting & Management.
“We continue to have a challenge with patients developing pressure ulcers, and also a challenge with having some standardisation and consistency of care… there is considerable variation of about what happens in practice… in particular underuse of evidence based care and overuse of ineffective interventions.”
“The overall prevalence of PUs recorded, in terms or proportion of patients with 1 or more PUs, was 9.04%...The audit sought to understand not just the number of pressure ulcers that were present, but the care that was being delivered to the patients to prevent pressure ulcers occurring….Findings regarding implementation of preventative actions vary considerably between organisations and even between sites within organisations. Identification of these areas is important to the individual organisations as it allows them to focus quality improvement efforts into the areas that may make a difference.”
“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.”
The conference will also discuss the New National Pressure Ulcer Surveillance System
A phased approach will be used to develop PU surveillance in the NHS.. Clinicians with responsibility for PU reporting (most likely tissue viability nurses) will need to ensure their organisations are aware of and prepared for the new surveillance system. As part of this, systems will need to understand the difference between surveillance reporting and clinical incident reporting. The purpose of surveillance reporting is to capture the full incidence and prevalence of PUs across a system to drive quality improvement at organisational level. The purpose of clinical incident reporting is to support learning from mistakes so action can be taken to keep patients safe.”
The conference includes a choice of streams in the afternoon focusing on:
Stream A: Learning from the National Audit and Sustaining Pressure Ulcer Prevention through Covid-19
This stream will focus on sustainability of pressure ulcer prevention through C0vid-19 and Learning from the National Pressure Ulcer Prevalence and Quality of Care Audit and Implementing the new national Pressure Ulcer Surveillance system. The session will focus on the introduction consistent processes and practice to eliminate pressure ulcers, and managing them effectively if they do occur. The stream will consider effective risk assessment tools, and the timing of them, the factors that increase the risk of pressure ulcer development and also look at a case study focusing on pressure ulcers in Covid-19 patients and the importance of ensuring patients have a planned repositioning regime.
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. The conference will concluded with a focus on improving nutrition and hydration, and implementing the new national Pressure Ulcer Surveillance system and learning from the pilot sites in practice.
This conference will enable you to:
- Network with colleagues who are working to improve the measurement, reporting and prevention of pressure ulcers and harm
- Reflect on national developments and learning including learning from Stop the Pressure: National Pressure Ulcer Prevalence and Quality of Care Audit
- Learn from outstanding practice in pressure ulcer reporting
- Implementing the new national Pressure Ulcer Surveillance system and learning from pilot sites
- 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 during Covid-19
- Understand plans for a new national pressure ulcer data system to support quality improvement
- Understand the factors that increase the risk of pressure ulcer development, and explore effective risk assessment tools
- Develop a better understanding of pressure ulcer prevention at the end of life
- Reflect on a case study in reducing pressure ulcers in Covid-19 patients
- Improve Nutrition and Hydration
- Learn from Clinical Negligence claims related to pressure ulcers
- 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