Guernsey healthcare professionals are raising awareness of simple steps that can be taken to avoid pressure injury.
HSC is staging an initiative called Focus on Pressure Week from Monday 12 to Friday 16 July, delivering training sessions for health care professionals and generally raising awareness on the prevention of pressure injury occurrences.
This awareness week follows statistics revealing an increase of pressure injuries in the Bailiwick in the first five months of 2021 compared to all of 2020. Limited mobility is a key risk factor.
Karen Leach (Associate Director of HSC Community Services) said: ‘The Focus on Pressure Week will be a great opportunity to deliver education, sharing of knowledge and skills from a range of specialist practitioners.
‘Alongside that we want to raise awareness among the community of simple things people can do to reduce their risk. Keeping moving, keeping hydrated, eating a well-balanced diet will help in the prevention of pressure injuries.
‘In the simplest sense, we are saying it’s time to move. The weather is warmer, and hopefully we’ll see plenty of sunshine. So we are asking those with limited mobility to move as much as they feel able. For some that might mean being helped to move position more frequently in bed, for others it will mean a nice stroll in the garden. But any movement can help reduce the risk of pressure injuries.
Ellie Philips and Meg Lowe (Tissue Viability Specialist Nurses) said: ‘Keeping up to date records on pressure -injuries and moisture associated skin damage has aided us to highlight that there may be a potential problem developing with the increase in pressure injuries.’
Gill Webster and C.G Madovi (Community Practice Development Lead Nurses) echoed: ‘In view of rising figures of pressure injuries within the Bailiwick of Guernsey, this calls for a proactive approach to raising awareness of the need to promote evidence-informed practice for service providers. A-problem discussed is a problem solved.’
Over the week HSC community services is holding 54 training sessions for staff covering 22 different topics around preventing and managing pressure injuries. The broad scope of the training will bring together HSC colleagues across community and hospital services, as well as local nursing and residential care homes. More than 10 senior HSC Specialist Practitioners will be presenting the sessions, with a variety of topics such as management of wound care, medication and how it affects the skin and nutrition.
Nicola Cross and David Cook (Occupational Therapist and Physiotherapist, Reablement Team) say: ‘Look for opportunities to move. Sometimes we feel we are being kind doing things for others but even the smallest tasks like letting people answer their own front door or making a cup of tea with someone instead of making it for them help people to get up and release the pressure. They also help people to keep people their independence.’
Did you know these 3 things?
- Pressure injuries, also known as bedsores can develop within 1-2 hours
- It’s better to prevent rather than treat a pressure injury
- Pressure injuries cause skin damage which can affect your health
Those at most risk are:
- People with limited mobility
- People with one or more chronic illness
- People with continence problems
3 Top tips for preventing pressure injuries:
- Check skin regularly for any changes for example discolouration or pain
- Change position regularly
- Eat a well-balanced diet and drink to keep hydrated
