1. Commit to the project All together now PUSH.
Pressure ulcers should be HISTORY.
Commit to the
project

2. The Safety Cross.
The safety cross is a method of collecting and recording data. It can be applied to any of the 4 harms that we screen for monthly: such as
Pressure Ulcers.
Falls
Catheter Infections
Deep Vein thrombosis.
All together now PUSH. Pressure ulcers should be HISTORY

3. WHY??
For the purpose of the PUSH campaign ,it raises awareness within the team of how many pressure ulcers have been acquired over the last month . It can be applied to anywhere patient care is delivered ie in- patients ,community and in nursing/residential homes. The cross has 31 squares on it for each day of the month with a colour grid of red, green and stripy red. Each box is coloured in at the end of the day; red for a new case/stripy for an admitted with and green for no new cases of pressure ulceration. If more than one colour is required split the box / keep it simple
All together now PUSH. Pressure ulcers should be HISTORY

4. Safety Cross
All together now PUSH. Pressure ulcers should be HISTORY

5. Collecting the data
Count an ulcer once only, it may be worth creating a table on the back of the cross to help maintain accurate records.
You could use small coloured stickers or coloured pens to fill in the data.
Record each pressure ulcer regardless of grade or site.
Display the cross in a prominent place to share with patients and carers.
All together now PUSH. Pressure ulcers should be HISTORY

6. Why bother? Raises awareness within the team. Improves patient safety.
Promotes good practice.
Provides real time data.
Should link with improvement work in the field of pressure ulcer prevention.
All together now PUSH. Pressure ulcers should be history

7. Using the data
There are 3 areas to think about: What do you think these are ?
What improvements do we wish to make(reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers by 50% in the next 6 months in our areas.
How will we know we have made a change or improvement? (use the SC to facilitate the local incidence).
What changes can the team make to show an improvement?
All together now PUSH. Pressure ulcers should be HISTORY

8. Positive thought on the use of the safety cross from Rainham H.C.staff
Staff can see at a glance, where team pressure ulcers have occurred
Supports reflection on the reasons pressure ulcers have happened & therefore identifies training needs
All staff have reported positive thoughts about the use of the safety cross
All together now PUSH. Pressure ulcers should be HISTORY.

9. How Safety Cross data helped Brentwood ICT target improvement work, graph depicting SC data
All together now PUSH. Pressure ulcers should be HISTORY.

10. Able to use this information and analyse and reflect on the reasons
Brentwood ICT
Team aware of rising numbers of grade 3-4 pressure ulcers being reported on the safety cross
Able to use this information and analyse and reflect on the reasons
Robust action plan put into place & staff able to see the reduction in pressure ulcers reflected by the green crosses on the chart
All together now PUSH. Pressure ulcers should be HISTORY.