Performance indicators--a quest to improve patient care.
Nurses working in the field of tissue viability constantly strive to improve pressure ulcer prevention and management in their clinical areas, knowing that pressure ulcers cause pain and suffering to patients while costing the NHS millions of pounds to treat. The aim of this initiative was for the tissue viability team to develop an audit tool based on recently devised performance indicators. The purpose of the audit was to provide the mechanism for reviewing the quality of everyday care. The tool utilizes the 'traffic light' system to categorize the results. The initiative has improved clinical outcomes for patients and increased the awareness, education, knowledge and confidence of nurses in pressure ulcer prevention and management across a combined primary and secondary care Trust.
Morris
Clare
C
North East Wales NHS Trust, Wrexham.
Pritchard
Barbara
B
D001513:Beds; D019985:Benchmarking; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004282:Documentation; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000458:organization & administration; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009731:Nursing Audit / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011187:Posture; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D017592:Skin Care / Q000379:methods / Q000451:nursing / Q000592:standards*; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006113:United Kingdom