Pressure ulcer risk assessment is one component of a holistic
assessment, and at times it may be that the results obtained via the
risk screen tool will not marry with the clinical picture observed by
the nurse. This may reflect the situation where pressure risk management
strategies have been already instigated or where further
assessment determines reduced risk. An area for further consideration
is that the finding of low risk for clients does not constitute
an inappropriate allocation of nurse time, and that while risk
screening may sometimes be time consuming, this practice provides
a valuable insight into a large group of clients for whom
interventions may be required to ensure they remain at this lowrisk
level and do not proceed to ulcerate. Given the projections
estimated earlier, it is unlikely that future screening of the low-risk
group at the pilot site will have a significant impact on nurse time.
Estimating that 10 minutes is required to complete each risk