T.I.M.E to improve patient outcomes: optimising wound care through a clinical decision support tool

Although classically described as a continuous timeline of discrete events, wound healing is actually a highly dynamic process with wounds progressing, stagnating and regressing through three...

Negative pressure wound therapy for skin graft closure in complex pilonidal disease

A 40-year-old man was referred by a district hospital for a consultation regarding plastic surgery at the authors' department for multiple fistulas at the sacrococcygeal region. The patient was a...

Opportunities and surprises

Properties and use of a honey dressing and gel in wound management

Revamil wound dressing (polyacetate sheet dressing impregnated with pure honey) and Revamil gel, a hydrophilic wound gel consisting of 100% honey that is marketed as enzyme rich with a low pH of 3.5,...

A nursing metaparadigm perspective of diabetic foot ulcer care

A metaparadigm can be described as ‘a set of concepts and propositions that sets forth the phenomena with which a discipline is concerned’ (Miller et al, 2003). Historically, three domains of the...

Evidence-based research is key to challenging and improving practice

Evidence-based practice (EBP) incorporates placing research evidence, clinical expertise and patient needs into the context of modern-day healthcare practice and it remains a cornerstone on which we...

Pressure ulcer prevention in hospitals: a successful nurse-led clinical quality improvement intervention

Between 2010 and 2014 there was a focus on prevention of adverse events and patient safety at hospitals in Denmark. The Region of Southern Denmark—one of 5 regional health authorities—and OUH had...

Well-funded prevention is indeed better than cure

Professionalising the humour out of nursing students

Inflammatory bowel disease nurse specialists: sailing into a perfect storm?

When talking to IBD nurse specialist colleagues about their roles and how they developed, the primary objective of many such services, based on a business plan, was to reduce demand on consultant...

The importance of infection control in tackling the antimicrobial resistance crisis

The UK's 20-year vision for antimicrobial resistance (Department of Health and Social care (DHSC) 2019a) identifies that improved antimicrobial stewardship programmes are an essential component of the...

Administering a suppository: types, considerations and procedure

There are various types of suppositories used for constipation. Nurses must be aware of any potential harm associated with their practice and reduce this whenever possible (Nursing and Midwifery...

Current thinking on caring for patients with a wound: a practical approach

A wound is defined as any injury or damage to the integrity of the skin (Dealey, 2012). This damage can be a consequence of traumatic injury by mechanical, physical and/or chemical impact, either...

The importance of obtaining a sputum sample and how it can aid diagnosis and treatment

The collection of sputum is one of the most common tests within respiratory medicine (Hickin et al, 2015). Sputum is (coughed up and spat out) salivary matter mixed with mucus or pus from the...

Use of the Omaha System to identify musculoskeletal problems in intensive care unit nurses: a case study

The Omaha System is a nursing classification system that has helped to make nursing interventions more visible, using nursing terminology, and supporting the collaboration of nurses working in...