News
National Recognition for Liverpool Bowel Care Protocol
Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust has gained national recognition for its bowel care protocol, winning runner up prize at a poster competition at the RCN Annual International Nursing Research Conference in Liverpool (8–11 April 2008).
The value of the protocol was further affirmed by requests to publish the poster from the Nursing Times and the
Continence Journal. As well as experiencing discomfort, constipated patients are more likely to fail to wean from mechanical ventilation than non-constipated patients (1).
An evaluation of the protocol showed a reduction in constipation from 83% to 40% of patients studied.
Reference
1. Mostafa S. M., Bhandari, S., Ritchie, G., et al. (2003) Constipation and its implications in the critically ill patient.
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 91:815–9.