| Summary: | NICE commissioned the NCC-NSC to develop a guideline on the use of pressure-relieving devices - specifically beds, mattresses and overlays - for the prevention of pressure ulcers for use in the NHS in England and Wales, to supplement the NICE inherited guideline on risk assessment and prevention, published in 2001. This followed referral of the topic by the Department of Health and the Welsh Assembly Government. This document describes the methods used to develop the guideline and presents the resulting recommendations. It is the source document for the NICE (abbreviated version for health professionals) and information for the public - patient -versions of the guideline, which are published by NICE. The guideline was produced by a multidisciplinary guideline development group and the development process was undertaken by the NCC-NSC. The main objective of the guideline was to establish the most clinically and cost effective beds, mattresses or overlays for preventing pressure ulcers. Additional areas examined included: the evidence for linking risk assessment to allocation of pressure-relieving devices; differences between the various devices in terms of comfort and acceptability ratings, ease of use and adverse events; quality of life implications associated with the use of different pressure-relieving devices; the groups that are at particularly high risk of developing pressure ulcers; the costs of preventing pressure ulcers for both the health services and patients/carers and the costs to patients and carers of pressure-relieving devices
|
|---|