Alwyndor

Using a co-design approach, the project developed a suite of practical tools to improve communication, visibility of risk information, staff capability and use of pressure injury data. 

Key initiatives included: 

• Pressure Injury Repositioning Handover Whiteboards located in nurses’ stations to improve communication between shifts and increase visibility of repositioning requirements. 
• Pressure Injury Visual Indicators positioned on glove box holders outside resident rooms to provide an immediate reminder of residents requiring additional prevention strategies. 
• Comprehensive pressure injury prevention, staging and reporting training for nursing and care staff. 
• Online microlearning modules and orientation resources to support long-term sustainability. 
• Resident engagement and survey activities to better understand resident experiences and involvement in care. 
• A Pressure Injury Risk Register located in nurses’ stations providing staff with easy access to information relating to pressure injury risk, prevention strategies, equipment requirements and wound care needs. 
• A Pressure Injury Dashboard designed to provide trend analysis, performance monitoring and data-driven insights for clinical leadership and governance. 

The project achieved positive outcomes across staff capability, communication, data quality and resident care. The communication and visibility tools were strongly adopted by staff and are now embedded into everyday practice across residential services. Nurses and carers reported that the repositioning whiteboards and visual indicators improved communication between nurses, carers and shifts, increased visibility of repositioning requirements, and supported greater oversight and consistency of care delivery. 

One residential nurse noted: "The tools are contributing to positive change for the residents and assisting carers in identifying and actioning care needs." 

A residential carer commented: "It has improved the repositioning practices to have a visual reminder." 

Staff education was another key area of success. More than 90% of nursing and care staff completed both face-to-face and online pressure injury education, including 43 nurses and 107 carers.. Training was supported by practical workplace tools, coaching and auditing activities to reinforce learning and support behaviour change.  

Data validation reviews demonstrated substantial improvements in pressure injury documentation quality, with staging accuracy increasing from 20% to 80% and timeliness of reporting improving from 75% to 100%.. These improvements provide greater confidence that pressure injury information is reliable, meaningful and capable of supporting informed clinical decision-making. 

Resident feedback also demonstrated encouraging results. Following implementation, residents reported improvements in repositioning practices, staff responsiveness, comfort and confidence that staff had access to the information required to support their care. The final resident survey also demonstrated strong positive ratings for: 

• 89.7% of residents stated that staff respond quickly to skin changes 
• 89.7% of residents reported feeling comfortable throughout the day 
• 86.2% of residents felt staff use the right information to support their care 
• 79.3% of residents said their skin and pressure areas are well cared for 
• 75.9% of residents reported feeling safe and supported with their skin care  

One resident reflected: "I find the wound care at Alwyndor is second to none." 

Importantly, these improvements were accompanied by positive clinical outcomes. Total pressure injuries reduced by 24.1% when comparing pre- (29 PIs) and post-implementation (22 PIs) periods. A year-on-year comparison of the implementation period also demonstrated a 21.4% reduction in pressure injuries. 28 PIs Apr-Jun 2025 vs 22 PIs Apr-Jun 2026. At the same time, a substantially greater proportion of pressure injuries were identified at Stage 1 rather than later stages, suggesting staff are identifying concerns earlier and implementing prevention strategies before injuries progress in severity. Pre-implementation quarter 20.7% of PIs were identified at Stage 1, post-implementation quarter it rose to 59.1%.

While it is still early in the implementation journey, the results suggest that improving communication, visibility of risk information, staff capability and data use is contributing to better outcomes for residents.  

The Pressure Injury Risk Register and Pressure Injury Dashboard have been developed, tested and reviewed by staff and are scheduled for launch in July 2026 following completion of final ICT deployment activities. 

Training resources have been incorporated into orientation programs for new nursing and care staff to ensure the knowledge, practices and tools developed through the project remain embedded beyond the life of the grant. Additional coaching and mentoring activities are also being implemented to further strengthen pressure injury prevention, management and reporting practices. 

The project has established a strong foundation for data-informed care and demonstrated how clinical data can be transformed into meaningful information that supports frontline decision-making. Future work will focus on ongoing monitoring of outcomes, continued improvement of pressure injury prevention practices and exploration of how similar approaches may be applied across other clinical areas. 

The project has established a strong foundation for data-informed care and demonstrated how clinical data can be transformed into meaningful information that supports frontline decision-making. The project team is now considering how these tools could be adapted and expanded to support other clinical areas, such as mobility, falls and behaviour support. Future work will focus on ongoing monitoring of outcomes, continued improvement of pressure injury prevention practices and exploration of how similar approaches may be applied across other clinical areas. The project has demonstrated how improving data maturity can translate into tangible benefits for residents, staff and organisations. By making pressure injury information easier to access, understand and use, Alwyndor has strengthened its ability to support earlier intervention, more informed decision-making and more proactive care. The early results are already demonstrating the value of the project's core principle: Better information. Better decisions. Better care. 

This project demonstrated that data literacy is about much more than reporting and compliance. When staff have access to timely, accurate and meaningful information, they are better equipped to identify risks earlier, communicate more effectively and provide more proactive care. The project showed that existing clinical data can be transformed into practical information that supports everyday decision-making without creating additional administrative burden. It also demonstrated that relatively simple, low-cost tools can significantly improve communication, visibility of risk and consistency of care when they are designed with frontline staff and integrated into existing workflows. Most importantly, the project demonstrated that improving data quality and data use can contribute to better resident outcomes through earlier identification of risk, more informed care planning and more proactive prevention strategies. 

The project reinforced the importance of co-design, staff engagement and reducing friction within existing workflows. Staff were more likely to adopt tools that were simple, visible and integrated into everyday practice. The co-design approach has been central to the project’s success, giving staff genuine ownership of the final tools. By grounding the design in practical experience, the tools align with clinical workflows and are more likely to be adopted and sustained than a management-imposed change. Participation in the ARIIA Flagship Program also provided valuable opportunities to learn from other aged care organisations and apply implementation strategies that strengthened project outcomes.