AS LONG-serving staff members of the Warwick Hospital, Catherine Oehlmann and Lyn Owens have seen many changes, but their commitment to respond to people's need for care has remained constant.

Ms Oehlmann and Ms Owens started at the hospital in the late 1970s.

After taking time off to raise their families, both returned to work and completed qualifications to become endorsed enrolled nurses.

They are a part of a varied workforce at the Warwick Hospital and on-site aged-care facility, The Oaks, which provides employment to more than 250 people.

The hospital employs not only a medical workforce, but a host of local residents across other operational and administrative roles.

"We have seen a lot of change at the hospital, and in nursing practice in general, over the years, but basic, human needs remain the same and people will always need care," Ms Oehlmann said. "We work in a team environment and it is a team effort to provide quality care for the community."

For two days a month, the pair steps out of the ward environment to provide education to staff and patients alike about pressure injuries, more commonly known as "bed sores".

They wear bright green polo shirts on their "pressure injuries days" to set themselves apart from other staff members.

"When staff see us in green, they know we are talking about pressure injuries," Ms Oehlmann said.

Ms Oehlmann and Ms Owens took up the portfolio five years ago and have dramatically decreased the number of patients who leave hospital with a pressure injury.

Part of their work has brought about the replacement of every mattress at the hospital with specialised pressure-relieving mattresses.

"Educating staff on 'best practice' was one of the first things we undertook," Ms Oehlmann said.

"There are a number of measures that can help avoid press injuries, such as positioning patients correctly in bed, re-positioning patients and getting them up and out of bed as soon as clinically appropriate. It is also about encouraging patients to take some responsibility for their own recoveries.

"We have developed education brochures for patients to take home with them."

Ms Oehlmann said their work not only greatly improved the quality of life for patients, it also had a positive effect on staff morale.

"It has been very much a team effort with myself, Lyn and the entire staff," she said.

BROAD RANGE

Warwick Hospital/The Oaks employment types include full-time, part-time, temporary, permanent, casual, locum and graduate.

Positions include:

•  Administrative staff (including managers)
•  Support services staff (cooks, cleaners, catering officers, groundsperson, wardspersons, painter, security officer)
•  Nursing (enrolled nurses, enrolled nurses advanced practice, registered nurses, clinical nurses, clinical nurse consultants, nurse unit managers, nurse practitioner, nurse educators, patient safety officer
•  Medical (resident medical officer, senior medical officer, medical superintendent)
•  Recreation officer (The Oaks)
•  Community health staff (nurses, health workers, school-based nurses)
•  Oral health staff (dentists, dental assistants, oral health therapists, dental technicians)
•  Mental health staff (clinical nurses, nurse practitioner, mental health workers, psychologist, social worker)
•  Allied health (allied health assistant, physiotherapists, dietitian, occupational therapists, speech pathologist, social workers)
•  Pharmacist and pharmacy assistant
•  Home-care workers and community-care workers