FOURTEENTH ANNUAL EUROPEAN PRESSURE ULCER ...

Thursday September 1st
Proceedings of the 14th Annual European Pressure Ulcer Meeting
Oporto, Portugal
Preventable hospital-acquired pressure ulcer prevalence in Western Australian Public
Hospitals: Serial data 2007 - 2009
Susannah Mulligan 1* , Jenny Prentice 2 , Keryln Carville 3 , Nick Santamaria 4
1* WoundsWest, Australia, Susannah.Mulligan@health.wa.gov.au
2 WoundsWest, Australia, 3 Silver Chain Nursing Association & Curtin University of Technology, Australia,
4 University of Melbourne & Royal Melbourne Hospital, Australia
Introduction
This paper will describe methods used by
WoundsWest to determine the epidemiology of
preventable hospital-acquired pressure ulcers among
patients admitted to public health facilities within
Western Australia.
Methods
Annually between 2007 and 2009 all consenting inpatients
of public hospitals and residential facilities
attached to public hospitals in Western Australia
underwent skin inspections to determine if they had a
wound. Wounds were categorised into 6 groups:
acute wounds, pressure ulcers, skin tears, burns,
malignant and other wounds. Wounds not
documented within 24 hours of admission were
considered hospital-acquired. Teams of surveyors
were educated and tested for competency in
recognising and classifying wounds and conducting
prevalence surveys to ensure consistency in audit and
data collection methods.
Results
Approximately 8,900 patients were examined during
the 3 annual prevalence surveys. Results identified a
preventable hospital-acquired pressure ulcer
prevalence of 8% in 2007 and 9% in 2008 compared
to 6% prevalence in 2009. The data are highly
comparable given the methodological rigour applied.
Further results will be reported in terms of pressure
ulcer prevention, compliance with work practices, and
contextual data related to organisational wound
management protocols, and equity and access to
resources.
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Discussion
Between 2008 and 2009, WW demonstrated a 33%
reduction in hospital-acquired pressure ulcers. This
has saved WA Health a minimum of $3.8M due to a
projection of 4,448 bed days saved over a 12-month
period. Recommendations for continuing to lower
preventable hospital-acquired pressure ulcers will be
discussed.
Data will also be compared to other Australian public
hospital data.
Clinical relevance
Preventing hospital-acquired pressure ulcers improves
patient outcomes, reduces length of stay and
associated costs allowing scarce resources to be
redirected to staff and patient education, clinical care
and preventative strategies.
Acknowledgements
WoundsWest acknowledges the generous effort and
commitment of staff and patients who contributed to
the successful outcomes of WoundsWest’s 3 annual d
Western Australian State-wide Wound Prevalence
Surveys conducted between 2007 and 2009.
Conflict of Interest
Nil
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