If you have a loved one who is a patient in a nursing home or other long term care facility, you likely worry a great deal about the care that they receive. Is it sufficient? Are their needs being met? Are their caregivers treating them well?
One sure sign that a nursing home patient is receiving inadequate care is the development of bedsores. This should be a never-event in a nursing home, because with proper supervision and care, bedsores will not emerge.
Even if a patient does get a bedsore, it should be duly noted on the patient’s chart and treated and well-managed by the nursing staff so that instead of worsening, the wound heals quickly.
It should be noted that bed-bound patients are not the only ones who are susceptible to decubitus ulcers, the medical term for bedsores. Any patient with decreased mobility, especially those confined to wheelchairs, can develop a bedsore if they are not positioned correctly and their posture changed regularly to allow for blood to flow to all areas of their limbs and bodies.
If your loved one is in a facility that is chronically short-staffed, bedsores become a real hazard. Once a bedsore develops, it can be challenging to treat, especially if it becomes infected.
Patients can and do die from bedsores. However, there is never any excuse for a modern facility here in the United States to allow bedsores to fester on the patients. When that occurs, it is nursing home neglect, pure and simple. These incidents of neglect are incredibly painful to the residents and can further decrease the quality of their lives. You will likely need to file a claim for damages on your loved one’s behalf should that occur.
