Incident management software from a UK company is being used proactively to reduce the incidence of bed sores in Wales.
In a notable NHS-industry partnership, Powys Teaching Healthcare Board (THB) is using DatixWeb from Datix Ltd to record and report on pressure sore incidents across its hospital wards and community nursing teams.
The THB provides hospital and primary care service across Powys, a large and sparsely populated county. THB staff use Datix to monitor details on pressure damage to patients and alert Tissue Viability Nurses when action is needed. Treatment recommendations are recorded in Datix. This has enabled the local NHS to improve care for immobilised patients and provide treatment advice in days instead of weeks.
Cathie Holmes, Datix Manager at Powys, said: “Previously we had a paper-based system, which meant it could be weeks before the TVNs received the relevant information. They also had little patient information or details of where the paper report had been sent from, so it was difficult to track trends or the source of wounds.
“After using Datix during our initial trials, we saw an immediate improvement. Now the system is used for pressure sores across the whole of Powys. As we record more data, we can look at trends to determine whether the sores start in hospitals, care homes or a patient’s own home. The metrics have already been invaluable in identifying patterns in the causes of wounds.”
Jonathan Hazan, Chief Executive of Datix, said: “We applaud Powys for using Datix in this innovative and proactive way. By recording bed sores and recommending treatment in Datix, the Powys nursing teams are able to respond quickly to make early interventions and recommendations, therefore making a big difference to patients’ wellbeing and recovery. Datix has enabled trends to be tracked, preventing similar situations in the future.”
Based in London, Datix is a leading provider of software for patient safety and risk management.