Preventing pressure ulcers in patients in intensive care
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Preventing pressure ulcers in patients in intensive care

William Gage Deputy divisional director of Nursing, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, England

This article discusses the prevention and management of pressure ulcers in intensive care. It outlines a service improvement project conducted in the intensive care units at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust with the aim of reducing the incidence of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers. The project introduced a set of ‘essential standards’ and an audit tool to monitor compliance. Implementation of the essential standards resulted in a reduction in the total number of pressure ulcers acquired in the four intensive care units, with an absence of any category 3 or 4 pressure ulcers (the most severe categories of pressure ulcer). The article describes the measures taken to ensure the sustainability and spread of the initiative within the NHS trust.

Nursing Standard. 29, 26, 53-61. doi: 10.7748/ns.29.26.53.e9657

Correspondence

william.gage@imperial.nhs.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to double blind peer review

Received: 02 October 2014

Accepted: 12 November 2014

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