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An updated policy regarding the treatment of pressures ulcers has not yet been rolled out across the whole island – despite pledges of action sparked by the death of an elderly man with a severe wound five years ago.
Pressure ulcers or bed sores are damage to the skin that comes from sustained pressure, with the most serious cases resulting in full tissue loss, and potentially bone, tendon or muscle being exposed.
They can happen to anyone, but usually affect people confined to bed or who sit in a chair or wheelchair for long periods of time.
Pictured: Pressure ulcers usually affect people confined to bed or who sit in a chair or wheelchair for long periods of time.
Last year, an inquest into the death of an 81-year-old care home resident who arrived in hospital with a pressure ulcer one nurse described as "one of the most serious I've ever seen" prompted the Deputy Viscount to "write to various agencies to set out learning points in the hope that this may aid future policies" about bed sores.
The inquest heard that education around the issue had improved since Roland Edmund Baldwyn Childe’s death in 2019, particularly following the introduction of an Island-wide Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Management Framework in 2021.
Following the inquest, local care charity Family Nursing and Home Care confirmed that Mr Childe’s death had "helped to identify the need for further detail within the framework" – which was due to be reviewed in 2023.
At the end of last year, the Government confirmed that the new Island-wide Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Management Framework was being reviewed by the Health department and relevant stakeholders.
At the time, it was anticipated that the framework would be finalised during December 2023 for stakeholder approval in early 2024 – with the new framework set to be launched in the first quarter of 2024.
Pictured: The new framework was implemented in the Health Department in May – but has not yet been rolled out across the island.
It has now emerged that, whilst the Health Department implemented the framework in May 2024, the new policy has not yet been rolled out across the whole island.
Following queries from Express, the Health Department said: “Health and Community Services has been working to the principles set out in the Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Management Framework since May 2024.
“Work is ongoing by Family Nursing & Home Care to ensure that the framework is suitable for island-wide use. The principles are not expected to change.”
A spokesperson from Family Nursing & Home Care explained that the work had been delayed due to new best practice guidance from the National Wound Care Strategy Programme which was released this year.
"The recommendations include changes to the categorisation of pressure ulcers, which has implications across all sectors in terms of assessment, reporting and management," they explained.
Family Nursing & Home Care staff have been working with various stakeholders to ensure that the new framework will be successfully implemented with the agreed changes across the island this year.
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New policy follows "concern" over pressure sore prevalence
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