To support World Pressure Ulcer Prevention Day the Care Inspectorate are helping to support raising awareness and provide information about how to eliminate pressure ulcers.
Pressure ulcers can develop in just a few hours, they most commonly affect a persons bottom, heels or elbows and occur when pressure on the skin disrupts the flow of blood and starves the affected area of oxygen and nutrients. The skin surface breaks down causing an ulcer to form.
Not only are pressure ulcers incredibly painful and distressing for the person, they also have an impact on continued care and the associated costs.
As part of this, the Care Inspectorate will be sending all care homes for older people a copy of the first set of Healthcare Improvement Scotland standards which encompass both health and social care ‘Prevention and Management of Pressure Ulcers’. You can find the standards here.
These standards have been supported by the Care Inspectorate and the format of the standards clearly set out the responsibilities for individual practitioners, services and organisations and also what people using these services should expect.
We also would also like to inform you about the the Scottish Patient Safety Programme ‘Reducing Pressure Ulcers in Care Homes’ improvement programme. The programme's aim is to reduce pressure ulcers in care homes and will run from May 2016 until December 2017.
Four Health and Social Care Partnerships are participating in the project. They have each selected a number of private, local authority, third sector / not-for-profit and NHS care homes from a wide range of urban and rural locations, reflecting the care home sector. A learning network will be set to share the outcomes and learning from this programme and other improvement activity taking place in care homes. If you are interested in being part of this learning network and receiving information on the programme's progress and future networking opportunities, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .