The Hampton-Gledhill 2-stage pressure risk-assessment system

Abstract

Pressure ulcers are largely preventable and, therefore, patients dying of large, necrotic pressure damage is an unacceptable situation. Lee Gledhill is both a nurse and a barrister and has been involved in many cases involving nurses facing court proceedings when their patients' primary cause of death is pressure ulcers. Sylvie Hampton, has acted as expert witness in some of these cases. It became obvious to the two authors that had healthcare assistants (HCAs) been more aware of how pressure damage could be detected and then prevented, some of the supervising nurses would not have been facing legal charges. The authors decided to produce a simple method of assessing first-stage skin changes for HCAs to not only recognize these changes, but also to have a framework in place describing the actions they need to take. This framework was produced as a card (the Hampton-Gledhill 2-stage pressure risk-assessment system). The card is being validated in many nursing homes and hospitals around the UK and in Jersey.