Al Wakra hospital achieves milestone in pressure ulcer prevention

With the aim of becoming the first medical facility in Qatar without a single incidence of a hospital acquired pressure ulcer, Al Wakra Hospital, a member of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), has achieved and exceeded its goal of reaching 1,000 days free of unit-acquired pressure ulcers across its general inpatient wards.

As of February 2017, the hospital has recorded 1,020 days free of unit-acquired pressure ulcers in its 6 North General Inpatient Medical wards. The hospital is also closing in on its goal of achieving 700 days in its 6 South Medical wards, having already recorded 540 days free of unit-acquired pressure ulcers. A pressure ulcer calendar is on display at the hospital’s general wards and shows the number of pressure ulcer free days.

Dr. Sabah Adnan Alkadhi, Al Wakra Hospital’s Medical Director said: “We are proud of the achievement of our pressure ulcer prevention team, which is working tirelessly to ensure that all patients on admission to our facility receive the most effective and most compassionate care and that they do not acquire any new infections while under our care. This is just one of the successful initiatives aimed at ensuring high-quality care and patient safety at Al Wakra Hospital.”

The pressure ulcer prevention project was an initiative introduced at the hospital in December 2014 by the United States-based Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) as one of HMC’s Best Care Always projects.

Internal Medicine Consultant and Deputy Chair of the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee, Dr. Mohamed Sadek, who is also the IHI team leader for Al Wakra Hospital’s general inpatient wards, said: “Pressure ulcer is the term used to describe localized damage to the skin and underlying soft tissue. Pressure ulcers are caused by pressure from a hard surface, such as a bed or wheelchair, and can range in severity from patches of discolored skin to open wounds that expose the underlying bone or muscle.”

He noted that the pressure ulcer prevention project was first piloted at Al Wakra Hospital in three units and it is being extended gradually to other sections of the hospital. “We have introduced the project at our High Dependency Unit, Coronary Care Unit, Critical Care Unit and 6 North Medical wards. Our aim is to spread it across all patient care units in the hospital, including primarily high-risk areas, in order to ensure that Al Wakra Hospital becomes the first medical facility in Qatar without a single incidence of hospital acquired pressure ulcers. We want to be the gold standard to emulate,” he stated.

He mentioned that as of February, the hospital has been able to sustain 100 percent compliance with the pressure ulcer prevention bundle framework, a process that links together best practice components in order to prevent pressure ulcers. He said they have ensured 100 percent compliance with daily pressure ulcer risk assessment checks of patients.

Dr. Sadek stated that pressure ulcers often mean increased hospital costs, a longer stay in the hospital for patients, a negative patient experience, pain and may even lead to life-threatening complications such as sepsis, a bloodstream infection that affects the body’s major organs.

He said the IHI facilitator for Al Wakra Hospital’s Inpatient Medical Unit, Ms. Julienne Arce, and other leaders of the pressure ulcer prevention project, including Staff Nurses Ms. Rabab Sherif Moustafa, Ms. Iman Sabry and Mr. Abdelelah Alnimat, in collaboration with the wound care team, nursing administration and other IHI team members, ensure that all healthcare staff follow a systematic framework to help prevent hospital-acquired pressure ulcers. The framework includes:

- Daily skin inspections to check for redness or breaking down of skin.

- Changing patient’s positions every two (2) hours.

- Use of pressure-reducing devices.

- Use of skin barriers or moisturizers for the skin.

- Ensuring patients eat a balanced diet, including following prescribed nutrition plans.