Irena Pukiova is currently an Advanced Nurse Practitioner specialising in Tissue Viability at Oxford University. She joined the OUH tissue viability team in November 2021, but began her tissue viability career in 2013 as a Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist for critical care. Since then, she has worked in a dual role as a Senior Staff Nurse and Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist in the Oxford Adult Intensive Care Unit. In 2013, Irena developed the tissue viability service for critical care, which received recognition and positive comments from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2014.

Originally from the Czech Republic, Irena relocated to Oxford, UK in 2007 and has lived and worked there ever since. She became a registered nurse in 2004 and completed the Facilitating and Assessing Workplace/Placement Learning course and Adult Intensive Care Postgraduation in 2009, both at Oxford Brookes University. In 2021, she also completed a sharp debridement module at the University of Bradford. In 2022, Irena was awarded an MSc in Clinical Skin Integrity and Wound Management.

In 2024, she was granted an Intership at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in Oxford, which is dedicated to advancing scientific and research initiatives. Throughout her internship with NIHR, Irena concentrated on the implementation of the tissue viability nurse role specifically within critical care and its effects on minimising adverse events.

Irena’s specialist interests include complex wound management, especially in critically ill patients, Negative Pressure Wound Therapy, and instillation, particularly in complicated wounds at challenging anatomical locations. She is also passionate about educating healthcare professionals and clinical simulation.

One of Irena’s proudest accomplishments is the improvement project she led regarding pressure area care for prone patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly reduced the amount of harm. She also actively participated in a consultation group for the NHS Improvement Pressure Ulcer core curriculum at the national level and contributed to the critical care workstream led by Jacqui Fletcher, which focused on medical device-related pressure ulcers and prone position management of patients. In 2022, Irena was the winner of the EPUAP Improvement project “Making Proning Easy.”

Irena holds the position of an expert witness in the UK, where she demonstrates a high level of proficiency in the investigation of serious adverse incidents, care neglect, quality evaluation, and risk management in clinical settings. Her primary areas of focus include skin integrity, wound healing, and nursing care in intensive care environments. As an expert witness, she plays a key role in drafting reports and analyses for both claimants and defendants.

Irena frequently presents and shares her work and practices at national and international conferences, such as the European Wound Management Association (EWMA), British Association of Critical Care Nurses (BACCN), and European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP).

Irena was a finalist of the Oxford University Hospitals staff recognition award 2023, nominated by a patient in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the work of the Trust.

Irena approaches her job with love, passion, dedication, and a commitment to improving herself and others, making her an exceptional member tissue viability community.