Norfolk Pressure Ulcers Equipment Final Report Jan 2017

In 2014 Healthwatch Norfolk received some comments from the public about the late delivery of equipment from the community equipment service. They identified that this could be linked to a rise in the number of avoidable pressure ulcers deemed to be serious incidents.  Healthwatch decided to focus on care homes and their residents – adults and older people - as the predominant receivers and users of pressure relieving equipment. Between April and September 2016, they visited 45 care homes, meeting with care staff to find out how they prevented ulcers from happening and what care they gave if ulcers were identified.

The report looks at the training that care staff had and how they ensured that care home residents’ skin integrity was assessed.  Care staff told Healthwatch how they reported ulcers and order pressure relieving equipment and the problems that can ensue if the residents have two care plans in operation – one by the community nursing team and the other by the care home.  Staff highlighted concerns over the number of residents discharged from hospital with a pressure ulcer.

Care home staff were pleased to share those practices they were most proud of and a list of good practice in pressure ulcer prevention and care has been compiled which can be shared with all care homes in Norfolk. In the eastern locality, uptake of training offered by the community nursing provider is good; this could be replicated across the county to improve equity of access. An improvement in communication between community nursing services and care home staff is needed, to better enable good care of residents with pressure ulcers.