HOSPITAL chiefs are reporting ongoing success in the battle against bed sores.
At the latest meeting of the George Eliot Hospital Trust Board, director of nursing Dawn Wardell, revealed that the figures surrounding pressure ulcers were continuing to fall.
As reported in the News, the Nuneaton NHS Trust declared a ‘zero tolerance’ stance last year as part of Pressure Ulcer Prevention Week.
Since then staff throughout the organisation have been made aware of the role they can play in impeding a patient's recovery and how to spot the signs early on.
There were no cases of Grade 3 or Grade 4 sores, which are the worst kind of ulcer, throughout April. Grade 2 type sores have also been halved during the month.
“There is some positive news again concerning pressure ulcers,” said Dawn Wardell, addressing executive and non-executive members of the Board.
“There were no Grade 3 or 4’s for April and we have reduced Grade 2 from nine down to five.
“We have zero tolerance and the message is getting through to everybody on the front-line. It is good that we are getting where we need to be and we will keep going.
“We launched zero tolerance on pressure sores in December. The last Grade 4 we had was in August and November was when we had the last Grade 3.”
Last year the George Eliot Hospital joined forces with neighbouring Trusts, including University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, Warwick Hospital and NHS Coventry, to host a series of events aimed at raising awareness of the problem to help identify them at an early stage and treat them.
A pressure ulcer, or bed sore, is an area of damaged skin that develops when constant pressure causes blood vessels feeding that area to shut down, leaving a wound.
In the majority of cases, they can be prevented if simple measures are taken. However if left untreated or infected, they can lead to severe pain, serious harm or even death.
It can cost the NHS up to £40,000 to treat the most severe cases of bed sores per person.
