Pressure Sores

Pressure sores, also known as pressure ulcers or bed sores, are injuries to the skin and the tissue underneath which can be caused by long periods of immobility.

In everyday life, when we are sitting in a chair or asleep in our beds, we frequently and subconsciously change our position and shift our weight. This is so that we don’t develop pressure sores.

When our natural ability to move is restricted, through age or illness, we are reliant on others to assist us to move in our bed or chair frequently. If this doesn’t happen, we can develop pressure sores.

Pressure caused by our own weight through our bones to the tissue can reduce blood flow to that area. Over a sustained period, a loss of blood supply to the tissue can cause it to die and a debilitating ulcer to form.

Although pressure sore prevention is basic nursing care, we see them all too frequently. Health care services are stretched, leading to more perfunctory nursing care and less time per patient available to nurses. Sometimes, less qualified health care assistants are employed to cover gaps in healthcare services. Such individuals simply do not have the training to ensure that pressure sores are avoided, or treated appropriately in their early stages.

In aged care facilities, the resource problems experienced by hospitals are, in our experience, often heightened. Often, we see only one Registered Nurse in each facility, with the majority of care being undertaken by less well qualified health care assistants. This, combined with the fact that aged care residents are at very high risk for the development of pressure sores, means that they are depressingly frequent problems for aged care patients, leading to extended periods of hospitalisation and, tragically, death.