Irena is an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, specialising in tissue viability at Oxford University hospitals and has two decades of broad experience of clinical settings. In 2013, she developed the Tissue Viability Service for critical care, which received recognition from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2014. Irena, practices as a Critical Care Nurse, presently as well as the management of tissue viability within the unit.

Considered an authority and leader within her field, Irena has influenced the standards and practices of wound management. She has also delivered training and education in these areas within the NHS and the private sectors.  During the Covid-19 pandemic, Irena led the improvement project regarding pressure area care for prone patients which significantly reduced harm. She has also participated in a consultation group for the NHS Improvement Pressure Ulcer core curriculum at national level and contributed to the critical care workstream focusing on medical device related pressure ulcers and management of patients in a prone position. Irena frequently presents and shares her work and practices at national and international conferences including the European Wound Management Association, British Association of Critical Care Nurses and European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel.

In 2022, Irena was awarded an MSC in Clinical Skin integrity and Wound Management. She was the winner in the EPUAP Improvement Project “Making Proning Easy”. In 2023, Irena was a finalist with Oxford University Hospitals staff recognition programme following patient nomination for her outstanding contribution to work within the Trust.

She is highly proficient in serious incident investigation, practice development, quality assurance, risk management and clinical governance.

As a TG Associate, Irena prepares Liability and Short Form Reports for claimants and defendants, relating to tissue viability and wound management, critical care nursing, (including ventilated patients), cardiac monitoring, extravasation and protocols for poly-trauma patients. She is fully trained in Civil Procedure Rules, including relevant revisions as they arise, and maintains her continuing professional development via a range of training activities.