Wound care program helps reduce number of pressure ulcers at NYGH
Rate of pressure ulcers in patients drops 7.5 per cent in six months
Wednesday July 9, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
Six months after implementing a skin and wound care program, North York General Hospital (NYGH) is seeing a rapid decrease in the occurrence of pressure ulcers in patients at the north Toronto hospital.

Since the program was launched earlier this year, NYGH, a Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) subscriber, has seen the rate of pressure ulcers in patients drop from 21 per cent to 13.5 per cent.

“That (is) quite a significant drop in a period of six months,” says Karyn Popovich, project lead and director of the medical services program at NYGH.

Popovich adds that the project team is hoping to reduce the occurrence of pressure ulcers — also called bedsores — by 50 per cent by May 2009.

Pressure ulcer treatment is a major patient safety issue and an important priority at NYGH. If pressure ulcers are not properly treated they can lead to extreme pain, amputation and even death.

The program, which is being carried out through a partnership between the hospital and medical supplier Smith & Nephew, is aiming to promote wound care education across the hospital by engaging nursing staff and the hospital’s interprofessional teams with bedside teaching, as well as classroom instruction on best practices in wound care.

“It’s spreading the knowledge amongst the greater number of staff, so building capacity across the whole organization around prevention, which is going to be the key,” says Popovich.

There are three components to the program: products, education and equipment.

As part of the educational initiative, instructors who are experts in the field of skin and wound care are working with nurses to help identify and discuss the best treatment options for pressure ulcers.

As soon as a patient is admitted, staff members do an assessment. If there are any pressure ulcers on the patient, they are graded from Stage 1 to Stage 4.

Stage 1 pressure ulcers are light irritations to the skin and Stage 4 ulcers are the most serious.

Data on pressure ulcers is then charted at the beginning of a patient’s stay so staff can be focused on wound care right from admission

Prior to incorporating this program, a nurse specializing in skin and wound care would examine wounds and assist with the dressings.

Popovich says she is pleased with the progress the program has made.

“I think (it is) quite a substantial step in the right direction and we’re going to keep working at that and hopefully bring it down even lower,” she says. “It’s quite a significant project and we can make a real difference to the patient experience through this initiative.”

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