Pressure injury and risk in the inpatient paediatric and neonatal populations: A single centre point-prevalence study.

INTRODUCTION: Prevention and management of pressure injury is a key nurse-sensitive quality indicator. From clinical insights, pressure injury effects hospitalised neonates and children, however it is unclear how prevalent this is. The aim of this study was to quantify prevalence of pressure injury, assess skin integrity risk level, and quantify preventive interventions in both neonatal and child inpatient populations at a large children's hospital in the UK. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken, assessing the skin integrity of all children allocated to a paediatric or neonatal bed in June/July 2020. A data collection tool was adapted from two established pressure ulcer point prevalence surveys (EUPAP and Medstrom pre-prevalence survey). Risk assessment was performed using the Braden QD scale. RESULTS: Eighty-eight participants were included, with median age of 0.85 years [range 0-17.5 years), with 32 (36%) of participants being preterm. Median length of hospital stay was 11 days [range 0-174 days]. Pressure ulcer prevalence was 3.4%. The majority of participants had at least two medical devices, with 16 (18.2%) having more than four. Having a medical device was associated with increased risk score of developing pressure injury (odds ratio [OR] 0.03, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.01-0.05, p = 0.02). Most children (39 (44%)) were reported not having proposed preventive measures in place aligned to their risk assessment. However, for those that did, 2 to 4 hourly repositioning was associated with a risk reduction on pressure damage (OR 0.13, 95% CI 0.03-0.23, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Overall, we found a low prevalence of pressure injury across preterm infants, children and young people at a tertiary children's hospital. Accurate risk assessment as well as availability and implementation of preventive interventions are a priority for healthcare institutes to avoid pressure injury.

A service improvement project of a legacy nurse programme to improve the retention of late career nurses.

Background: A Nottingham Legacy Nurse Programme was developed in response to the reducing supply of new nursing registrants and an ageing workforce. The programme comprised components of focussed mentorship, knowledge transition, support and development of new learners in practice. Aims: The work-based development programme aimed to improve the retention and experience of late career registered nurses. Methods: The programme was informed by the evidence base and co-produced with late career registered nurses (aged 55 years or over, approaching retirement). A small pilot programme (n = 6) was evaluated through a mixed-methods approach. Refinements and recommendations were proposed in response to findings of a scoping search of the literature, feedback from participants and stakeholder groups across the NHS Midlands and East regions (n = 238). Results: A Legacy Nurse programme has potential to address nurses' individual career development needs, valuing and retaining them in the workforce, enabling them to share professional knowledge and skills within clinical teams and offers a cost-effective solution to improving retention of late career nurses. Conclusions: Addressing the needs of late career registered nurses is required to improve retention, job satisfaction, quality-of-care provision and facilitate knowledge transfer. The programme requires evaluation in other care settings and should be considered as part of an integrated approach to nurse retention, inclusive talent management and workforce planning, alongside financial and careers advice.