Pressure Injury Prevention during the pandemic: Prone Positioning Pressure Injury Prevention during the pandemic: Prone Positioning Preventing pressure injury while prone positioning patients. Prone position for prolonged periods of time places the patients at significant risk of complications including pressure injury. To mitigate this risk, selecting the right support surfaces to support pressure redistribution and targeted pressure offloading is key. Pressure injuries are

Reduced mobility is a significant risk factor for pressure injury development, international guidelines emphasise the need for regular turning and repositioning of patients to help prevent skin damage¹. While a pressure redistribution mattress may enable the repositioning regimen to be individualised, regular postural change is still important but not without risk to the patient or caregiver.

The time factor in pressure injury prevention Why “Lower for Longer” is the driving principle behind the performance of an Alternating Pressure surface. When assessing the performance of an active alternating surface, the aim is to achieve lower pressures, for longer times. In independent third party tests, AtmosAir Velaris demonstrated full pressure offloading at the sacral and heel areas for significantly longer times than the other tested surfaces. Find out more on arjo.co

Empowering movement is fundamental to any patient rehabilitation programme and is a core principle in the prevention of pressure injury development. With the impact of the current pandemic, the focus on mobilising and rehabilitating patients earlier and often throughout the day has never been higher.

Healthcare settings face the challenge of managing an effective Infection Control protocol on a daily basis. Ensuring the safety of patients and staff at all times, in a range of different settings requires a robust process, where care and treatment can be delivered without the risk of infection due to poor hygiene standards.