In recent years, the number of inpatient services, especially from the elderly clients who are at risk for skin breakdown, admitted ED (emergency department) staffs has been on the increase. The ED environment was meant for short-term care in response to emergent situations. However, pressure related injuries originating in the ED have led to both financial and physical afflictions. Some measures have been put in place to address this issue, one such measure is the PUP (Pressure Ulcer Prevention) which may not be largely embraced in the ED environment. However, the Pus is within the scope of the nursing practice and can be amended to improve the standard of healthcare. It is for the reason that this paper seeks to translate the current evidence for PUP and bring out the best practice in emergency nursing. …show more content…
He points out the average waiting time nationally is 4 hours and 13 minutes. The situation gets worse when it comes to an older patient who has to wait up to 5 hours and 9 minutes on average. These extended periods of immobility increase the risk of tissue injury. Worse still, the ED environment shows many other challenges that prove to be a set up to progress. For instance, the ED stretchers are narrow with mattresses that are meant to serve only for short-term purposes. The prolonged pressure over bony prominences has long been known to threaten tissue viability. Impaired perfusion for as little as 30 minutes can cause hypoxic tissue damage and deep tissue injury that may not be recognized for up to seven days (Andres et al.,