Seeing spots to Stop the Pressure
15/11/2018
This article is more than five years old.
A specialist team of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust nurses have been raising awareness and encouraging conversation around the prevention of pressure ulcers.
The Trust's Tissue Viability nurses are wearing and handing out red dotted stickers to staff and the public as part of NHS Improvement's Stop the Pressure campaign, and International Stop Pressure Ulcer Day today (Thursday 15 November 2018).
A pressure ulcer, also known as a bedsore or pressure sore, is a skin tissue injury caused by repeated pressure or friction - and many are preventable with early intervention.
Tissue Viability nurses will discuss preventative care with healthcare professionals, patients and their families, as well as the wider public.
Julie Brown, a senior member of the Tissue Viability Team at the Trust, said: "We are excited about the activities being planned for this special week, including 'Adopt a Pressure Ulcer' by the wearing of a red dot, representative as an early indicator of pressure damage, and hope to make the wider community more aware of the risk to patients.
"We are proud of the high quality care the dedicated staff here at the Trust provide every day in their efforts to prevent pressure damage from happening.
"It's really important that healthcare professionals from all disciplines engage in active prevention measures - that's the best way to ensure consistent damage prevention."
By the end of the week, the Trust's dedicated inpatient Tissue Viability team will have visited the Horton General Hospital (12 November 2018), the Churchill Hospital (14 November), and the John Radcliffe Hospital and the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre (15 November) to promote awareness of pressure ulcer preventions with patients, visitors and staff members.
Despite significant reporting and preventative improvements, pressure ulcers, which affect anyone from newborns to those at the end of life, remain a significant healthcare issue.
More than 200,000 people developed a new pressure ulcer nationally UK in 2017/18, and treating pressure ulcers costs the NHS more than £1.4m each day.
Our Tissue Viability team provides advice, education and support for inpatients with complex wounds and skin management issues.
They receive more than 4,000 referrals a year and have been nominated for the Trust's annual Team of the Year Award for the past five years.
Visit nhs.stopthepressure.co.uk for more information on pressure ulcers.
Pictured: Members of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's Tissue Viability Team