T
he previous author put forward the notion that:
‘The development of a bedsore was considered
something deeply shameful for the nurse
responsible, and their discovery was often met with
disciplinary action or even dismissal. Why have things
changed?’. Those clinicians working in the field of tissue
viability have the answer to that question, and it is not
simply down to the present economy.
Nurses have suffered reduced opportunities for
education and training, and it is increasingly difficult to
hire equipment owing to financial constraints. However,
this cannot be an excuse, as any tissue viability nurse
could explain to the finance people that any spend on
education and equipment will actually be cost effective
in the longer term. If pressure damage incidence is
reduced through increasing knowledge and equipment
availability, patients are discharged from hospital on an
average of 5 days sooner, and require less specialist input
when in care of any kind (Hampton, 1996a; 1996b).
This will reduce cost.
The steady increase