Definition of the Policy
Pressure ulcer policy is a formal clinical document formally designed and outlines the targeted population, stakeholders, purpose of the policy, responsibilities and pressure ulcer preventive intervention and control measures. According to Mervis & Phillips (2019), pressure ulcers occur when a skin area and the underneath tissues are damaged due to being under extreme pressure impairing the supply of blood. The development of the condition is not only multifactorial but also complex.
Purpose of the Policy
The primary purpose of this policy is to ensure that patients at risk of developing pressure ulcers and all patients who have already developed pressure ulcers are treated not only properly but also timely.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Targeted Population
This policy targets hospitalized patients. The preference of pressure ulcers is common during hospitalization and is currently at 80% despite the incorporation of technology and formalized prevention programs in clinical settings. The preference rate is highest among hospitalized patients compared to other health complications with 41.85% (Jiang et al., 2014). Most mortality cases among hospitalized patients in the intensive care unit are also linked to pressure ulcers. The mortality rate of pressure ulcers among older patients within one year after hospital discharge is 60.8% (Jiang et al., 2014). These data offer efficient evidence to qualify hospitalized patients as the targeted population in regards to pressure ulcers policy project is concerned.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders for this project policy include hospitalized patients and nurses. These stakeholders form the inner-core of the pressure ulcer prevention committee following this policy. The collaborative partnership between nurses and in partnership with patients enhances the alignment and integration of efforts aimed at improving care for pressure ulcers (Boyko, Longaker & Yang, 2018). Both clinical representation of nursing, non-nursing and non-clinical representation from patients is crucial for the success of this policy. The stakeholders form a broad representation, which leverages the existing organizational expertise for the formulation of pressure ulcer prevention and control strategies and implementation of the policy (Hangulu & Akintola, 2017). The prospective supporters of this policy are the nursing and non-nursing representatives. These two stakeholders advocate for time and resources generation and allocation and ensuring that all the associate parties participate actively in the prevention and control of pressure ulcers.
Duties and Responsibilities
Clinical Staff
Clinical staff must adhere to this policy substantially and report any violation against it. The staff must also be well informed about their responsibilities in preventing pressure ulcers and to articulate them diligently.
Nurses
Nurses should identify and document patients at risk of developing pressure ulcers. While doing so, the nurses are required to consider known precipitating and predisposing factors then plan and implement prevention measures.
Patients
Patients are advised to report any suspected case or risk to the lead or duty nurse as soon as they are detected.
Support and Training
The facility will provide a periodic education program to both patients and nurses to help in the prevention of pressure ulcers.
Monitoring and Assessment
Monitoring pressure ulcer incidents and assessing the improvement of patients helps in determining the effectiveness of the employed interventions (Kottner et al., 2019). Monitoring and assessment to be done based on table 1 below.
Table 1: Monitoring and Assessment Guide
Element | The person responsible | How often | Review Approach |
| Auditing how to ward representatives are adhering to the policy | Matron and ward managers | Weekly | Use of local action plan to address the deficits |
| Training needs for prevention of pressure ulcers | Managers of wards and departments | Yearly | Professional Development Appraisal |
References
Boyko, T. V., Longaker, M. T., & Yang, G. P. (2018). Review of the current management of pressure ulcers. Advances in wound care , 7 (2), 57-67.
Hangulu, L., & Akintola, O. (2017). Perspectives of policy-makers and stakeholders about health care waste management in community-based care in South Africa: a qualitative study. BMC health services research , 17 (1), 1-13. https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-017-2236-x
Jiang, Q., Li, X., Qu, X., Liu, Y., Zhang, L., Su, C., & Bo, S. (2014). The incidence, risk factors and characteristics of pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients in China. International journal of clinical and experimental pathology , 7 (5), 2587. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4069923/
Kottner, J., Cuddigan, J., Carville, K., Balzer, K., Berlowitz, D., Law, S., & Sigaudo-Roussel, D. (2019). Prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers/injuries: The protocol for the second update of the international Clinical Practice Guideline 2019. Journal of tissue viability , 28 (2), 51-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtv.2019.01.001
Mervis, J. S., & Phillips, T. J. (2019). Pressure ulcers: Prevention and management. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology , 81 (4), 893-902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2018.12.068
