What is the link between Prof. Jason Leitch, pressure ulcers and Krakow? Up until March of this year I would have said “none”. However, an invitation to co-present a poster at this year’s European Wound Management Association Conference (EWMA) made the link very clear and was an excellent opportunity to fly the flag for Scotland’s independent sector on an international platform.
Prof. Jason Leitch (Clinical Director, The Quality Unit, Scottish Government) announced his aim that pressure ulcers were to be reduced by 50% in all care settings by December 2017. He shared this with delegates at the NHS Scotland event in 2015 and set the Reducing Pressure Ulcers in Care Homes Improvement programme’s wheels in motion.
This programme was a collaboration between the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland (Scottish Patient Safety programme) and Scottish Care, and saw for the first time, our three organisations working on such an improvement project. This is detailed on the microsite developed as part of the process www.pressureulcers.scot.
Having being involved in this since the onset and very aware of its success, I was delighted when Joyce O’Hare (Improvement Advisor, Care Inspectorate) took the lead in developing a poster abstract to be submitted to the EWMA conference being held in Krakow. Joyce’s abstract was accepted and we were invited to prepare a poster. With an emphasis on collaborative working, integration of health and social care and improvement methodology, Joyce worked with Jill Gillies (HIS) and me in preparing and submitting the poster. We were delighted when this was selected and we were invited to present this to delegates from around Europe. With support from Scottish Care and the Care Inspectorate, Joyce and I set off for Krakow on 9th May.
RPUCH postert Krakow 2018
Although our presentation was short our poster was on display for the duration of the conference. Our collaborative approach, the independent care home sector, the role of the Local Integration Leads, our commitment to improvement and the opportunities created by integration were all shared. With an audience consisting of such a wide range of health professionals from across Europe we feel we certainly put our sector and organisations we represent on the map.
Margaret McKeith
National Lead
Partners for Integration and Improvement
