Aiming to achieve sustained quality improvement, Amy Thompsonand Sheila Dobbs from Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, describe the staff experience of using Photo at Discharge to reduce the burden of surgical site infection(SSI).
Hospital acquired infections are a huge problem and place a significant financial burden on the NHS. Cardiothoracic nurses at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust are leading innovation, and as a result continuing to reduce readmissions for surgical site infection after cardiac surgery using the Photo at Discharge (PaD) scheme. PaD is a value-based wound care approach, for the prevention, early intervention, and optimisation of care for the patient and healthcare system
Why SSI is such a problem
Any surgical procedure which creates a break in the skin can lead to an infection at the wound site postoperatively – a surgical site infection (SSI). Patients who develop an infection often face a prolonged hospital stay, and treatment is not only costly but often very complex. This places a significant burden on the NHS, estimated to cost more than £750 million per year.5 SSI is a significant predictor of morbidity and mortality and contributes to the spread of antibiotic resistance.14
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