The Pressure Ulcers to Zero (PUTZ) collaborative was the first large scale improvement collaborative to take place in Ireland and was supported by the Quality Improvement Division (now the National Quality Improvement Team), Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Royal College of Physicians Ireland (RCPI), through the National Quality Improvement Programme. There has been 3 phases completed and phase 4 commenced in Q2 2019.
The teams that participated in the PUTZ collaborative became part of an active learning community, learning from each other and from recognised experts. The role of participating teams, in every phase, was to implement the SSKIN bundle which is a specific five step process that when performed collectively and reliably can improve PU prevention as it guides assessment and prompts targeted prevention strategies.
Key Objectives
- To reduce newly acquired PUs across participating sites within determined timeframes
- To support participating teams in using Quality Improvement approaches and developing and improving knowledge, skills and expertise in PU prevention
- To develop a learning community and network nationally which will accelerate learning and share good practice
- To promote a culture of learning and continuous improvemen
Phases
Phase 1 (2014-2015)
Participating Teams: Former Dublin North East region – 21 multidisciplinary teams across hospitals, primary care centres, nursing homes & community /private residential centres.
Aim: To reduce the number of avoidable PUs across participating teams by 50% within the time frame of the collaborative
Result: PUTZ 1 achieved a 73% reduction in avoidable PUs
Phase 2 (2015-2016)
Participating Teams: Ireland East Group, CHOs 5, 6, 8 & 9 & private residential nursing homes – 26 multidisciplinary teams.
Aim: To reduce the number of avoidable PUs across participating teams by 50% within the time frame of the collaborative
Result: PUTZ 2 achieved a 49% reduction in avoidable PUs
Phase 3 (2016-2018)
Participating Teams: All acute hospitals in the South South-West Hospital Group and the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group – 22 teams.
Aim: To reduce newly acquired PUs by 50% across participating teams in a six month timeframe and to sustain this reduction by twelve months (28th February 2018).
Result: PUTZ 3 achieved a 67.5% reduction in avoidable PUs
