Supporting patient care with appropriate accessories

摘要

Peristomal skin integrity is the cornerstone of stoma care and yet the prevalence of skin problems is high, which then leads to clinical challenges impacting on the stoma patient's quality of life. Elcoat and Frost (2010) stated there should be no avoidable skin complications for patients with a stoma. Therefore, it seems propitious that the stoma care nurse uses all that is in their armoury to prevent these complications from occurring. What is the best way for the stoma care nurse to support the patient after stoma formation, apart from using the correct appliance, to avoid peristomal skin implications? Purnell (2014) suggested that there is a misleading nomenclature in the use of the term 'accessory' in stoma care, which may lead to many prescribers considering a request for skin protectors, adhesive removers, seals and flange extenders to be non-essential items and financially burdensome, However, accessories can be considered to be supporting items to the appliance system that will help to optimise the wear time and maximise the value in stoma care spend.