Bed sores (also known as pressure sores) affect millions of people who are admitted to hospital within the United
Kingdom every year. They develop as a consequence of pressure being exerted on an area of skin, usually because of a patient’s reduced mobility, causing damage to the skin and the underlying tissue due to a lack of blood supply, resulting in minor to major wounds.
Pressure Ulcer Statistics in the UK
The NHS has quoted statistics highlighting that 95% of pressure ulcers are preventable and as such are avoidable.
Accordingly, a staggering amount of bed sores that develop whilst patients are in NHS care or care homes should be avoided and are likely to have arisen due to sub-standard nursing care.
If you or a loved are have suffered from bed sores whilst in the care of the NHS contact Ison Harrison Solicitors on 0113 184 5745, our clinical negligence team will be able to provide you with the advice that you need to achieve the compensation that you deserve.
People who are elderly, of poor health, of reduced mobility or who suffer from incontinence have an increased risk of developing pressure sores whilst in hospital. These sores can have a significant impact on a person’s quality of life, causing pain and distress, resulting in reduced physical function as well as leading to loss of dignity.
Since 95% of pressure ulcers should be avoided, prevention has been the focus of the NHS. Prevention is achieved through regular turning and movement of a patient together with the utilisation of specific support surfaces and the avoidance of pressure being exerted on areas that are prone to high levels of pressure. The most common practice with UK hospitals is a patient being turned and repositioned on a 2-hourly basis.
Guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (“NICE”) advocate a focus on the following when dealing with patients:
- A pressure ulcer risk assessment;
- A skin assessment;
- Repositioning; and
- The use of high-specification mattresses.
As long ago as 1859, Florence Nightingale noted within her book “Notes on Nursing: What it is, and What it is Not” that:
If he has a bedsore, it’s generally not the fault of the disease, but of the nursing.
Our clinical negligence department has a long proven track record of winning cases where patients have suffered from pressure sores due to sub-standard care. Every case is fact specific, but we have achieved settlements ranging from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands.
James Thompson, Head of our clinical negligence department comments as follows:
Pressure sores can be horrific and their impact on patients and their families, long-standing and devastating. It is extremely important that when they occur the care provider is taken to task to ensure that they learn from their mistakes and ensure it does not happen again to that patient or their fellow patients.
Call us on 0113 284 5000 to make a pressure sore claim today.
