DEVELOPMENT OF A TEACHING PACKAGE

Development of a Teaching Package for Healthcare Assistants

Development of a Teaching Package for Healthcare Assistants

Introduction

To develop a teaching package based on teaching and enabling the healthcare staff using healthcare assessment with latest information systems to perform wound dressing and remove wound drains, remove sutures and wound clips. This package aims to give healthcare staff a fundamental understanding on dressing, removing wound drains and other such tasks. It is very important to understand the value of effective use of Information and communication technologies especially for the younger healthcare assistants. It is understood that healthcare assistants can learn computer proficiency early on.

We should commence by defining a pressure sore/ulcer or decubitus ulcer, as it is also known. The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) defines it simply in its Inherited Clinical Guideline B (2001) as; “Pressure ulcers are areas of damage to the skin and underlying tissue”. For a more comprehensive definition we could contemplate Brooker (1996) when she states, “The destruction of tissue and ulceration which results from compression, sharing force and friction”, and goes on to add, importantly, “Factors which predispose to pressure sore formation include: poor oxygenation, incontinence, age over 65-70, immobility, altered consciousness, dehydration and malnutrition”. The latter provides us with the palpable material to assist in prevention, assessment and treatment without which an holistic approach is implausible.



Patient Care

Healthcare assistants must be able to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health. Healthcare assistants are expected to:

Requirement of the Education Package

Regardless of choice of mattress and whether or not a pressure sore has developed, regular position change should be instigated as soon as signs of breakdown appear (David et al 2002, Culley 2003). Barbenel (2001) advocates an awareness of interface pressure (creased bed linen and night-clothes) coexistent with position change, even though position change relieves pressure from at risk areas it also has its deficiencies. One patient in particular, witnessed by the author, took great indifference to being disturbed at regular intervals to have their position changed resulting in the deterioration of the relationship between patient and staff, moreover having a detrimental effect on the patients mental well being. When healthy relationships need calling upon whilst encouraging eating to gain valuable nutrients to assist in the healing process (Lewis 2003, Gunningberg et al.2000), they were not attainable.

The treatment of a pressure sore is the same for any other type of wound. To ensure relevant treatment is administered the aetiology and underlying or related pathology as well as the wound itself must be assessed. Two types of dressing witnessed in use by the NSHA were; Polymeric film, suitable for shallow wounds offering prophylactic use against pressure sores and, Hydrocolloids which provide a moist wound environment suitable for assisting debridement. Others are used (Grocott 2000) but these will not be explored at this time. Nevertheless without pressure relief from areas of damage the time scale for healing increases dramatically (Culley ...