Bedsores or pressure sores (also called pressure ulcers, in some cases) can be very dangerous in a nursing home setting. Even in a relatively mild form, they can cause a lot of pain and discomfort for an elderly person. In more severe cases, bedsores can even get infected and that infection could become fatal. Elderly individuals often have a lot of health concerns, and bedsores can just escalate things and even lead to their premature passing.
To avoid bedsores, people who lack mobility need to be moved, rolled, turned or repositioned every so often. The bedsores form because of constant pressure on the same parts of the body. By changing positions and altering those pressure points, bedsores can be prevented. But how often does someone have to move for this to actually work?
Every one to two hours
The reality is that people need to move rather frequently to prevent bedsores. Many experts recommend that they should change positions everyone to two hours.
In a nursing home setting, an elderly person may need physical assistance in order to move. They lack the mobility and strength to do it on their own. Staff members need to be aware of how much time has passed, if a resident has a history of bedsores and if they have recently been assisted by other staff members.
Unfortunately, many elderly people do not get the care that they need and they do not change positions frequently enough. They may be neglected at an understaffed nursing home, for example, where they are only repositioned every eight hours. If you believe that this has had a negative impact on your elderly loved one’s health, then you need to know exactly what legal steps to take moving forward.
