District nurses, community matrons, podiatrists and student nurses from across Mersey Care came together to deliver the pressure reduction roadshow for the annual event on 16 November.
During the roadshow the team of health professionals engaged with more than 200 staff and shared educational resources and best practice for reducing the risk of pressure ulcers.
Their top tips included:
• regularly changing your position – if you're unable to change position yourself, a relative or carer will need to help you
• checking your skin every day for early signs and symptoms of pressure ulcers – this will be done by your care team if you're in a hospital or care home
• having a healthy, balanced diet that contains enough protein and a good variety of vitamins and minerals, particularly vitamin C and zinc – if you're concerned about your diet or caring for someone whose diet may be poor, ask your GP or healthcare team for a referral to a dietician
• stopping smoking – smoking makes you more likely to get pressure ulcers because of the damage caused to blood circulation
As part of the roadshow, Mersey Care also launched the Sefton Pressure Ulcer Reminder (SPUR) wheel, which aims to help health professionals improve identification and management of pressure ulcers.
The wheel was originally created on the back on a cereal box by Andrea Gore a district nurse based in Crosby, and is now used as part of clinical practice across the South Sefton community nursing teams.