Pressure Ulcers Essay

A pressure ulcer exposes the skin to infection due to pressure being on a particular region of the body within a long period of time. Pressure ulcers can be classified as stage I-IV according to the tissue involvement. Alison Moore writes that pressure ulcers were once thought to be inevitable within certain groups of patients, such as those who are old and those who have anorexia (pp. 18-19). In order to reduce the number of patients who received pressure ulcers, NHS Midlands and East chief nurse Ruth May developed a campaign called “Stop the Pressure.” Dr. May states, “The vast majority of pressure ulcers are the result of poor nursing care. We can improve care and this can be measured” (Moore, 2012, p. 18). This implies that it is the nurse’s responsibility to start eliminating the …show more content…
May’s campaign called for addressing nursing skills and training, educating the public, and putting the issue regarding pressure ulcers in front of trust boards (Moore, 2012, p. 18). Such tools, such as the SSKIN care bundle, can be used to implement technique to prevent pressure ulcers. Jacqueline Fletcher lists the importance of the components of the SSKIN care bundle: Surface, Skin, Keep Moving, Incontinence, and Nutrition (Moore, 2012, p. 18). Nurses need to assess the skin carefully, making note of where a pressure ulcer could potentially occur and utilize proper techniques to provide adequate skin care. Other techniques, such as collecting data and using accepting equipment such as pressure mattresses at home, are also useful to help eliminate pressure ulcers. Statistics were listed within the article to prove that when nurses take action to prevent pressure ulcers, the number of occurrence has decreased and the outcome was favorable. It is important to educate nurses, staff, and family about the prevention pressure ulcers as early as possible. By making plans and implementing interventions, it would help eradicate the event of pressure ulcers from appearing so