Pressure wounds (also called bedsores) can develop in as quickly as 2 hours (“Bedsores,” 2015) and can take months to heal? Constant pressure against the skin causes a decreased blood supply to the area causing tissue injury and tissue death leading to a pressure wound.
These wounds commonly happen to patients who are unable to change their position in a chair or bed such as sedentary patients, the elderly and severely compromised patients; all are considered to be at high risk. There are specific actions facilities can take to prevent pressure wounds from occurring. These include turning or repositioning patients (at a minimum) every two hours and having them on specialty air mattresses. This decreases the pressure points on bony prominence’s where sores most often develop (heels, hips, coccyx/tailbone).
Pressure wound malpractice suits are likely to increase as the population ages and more patients are cared for in nursing homes and through home care. Paige Legal Nurse Consulting is ready to assist you with the medical records and outlining all the issues in these types of cases! Give us a call at (508) 292-2372.
Bedsores. (2015, October 13). Retrieved from agedcarecrisis.com http://www.agedcarecrisis.com/care-issues/bedsore
Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Relieve the pressure and reduce harm. Retrieved from IHI.org: http://www.ihi.org/resources/Pages/ImprovementStories/RelievethePressureandReduceHarm.aspx