Basildon Hospital hasn't learnt from my mum’s case (From Echo)

Basildon Hospital hasn't learnt from my mum’s case

9:40am Tuesday 24th July 2012 in Basildon By Jon Austin

A WOMAN whose mother developed terrible bed sores while in Basildon Hospital says she is horrified sores are still a problem there.

Hospital managers assured Jacky Franklin, 46, in October they would make avoidance of pressure sores in bedridden patients a priority.

It was their response to a complaint by Mrs Franklin about the care of her mother, June Crane.

During her stay in the hospital, Mrs Crane lost a large amount of weight. She was poorly fed and often complained of being thirsty. She also developed serious ulcers on her legs.

Mrs Franklin contacted the Echo after reading a recent report about an investigation of four cases of serious bed sores suffered by patients in May.

The hospital has since admitted the number of cases of serious pressure sores has not reduced since it gave Mrs Franklin the reassurances.

Sores suffered by immobile patients because the same part of their body is in touch with bed the whole time are graded one to four, with four the most serious. Grade three and four sores have to be officially recorded as serious incidents and must be investigated.

The hospital has confirmed since October, 17 grade three cases and one grade four have been logged.

Mrs Franklin said: “My mother had grade four ulcers. I was disgusted to see the hospital admit nothing had changed since our meeting last year.

“The whole point of my complaint was to ensure that this didn’t happen again. They assured me in future, this sort of thing would be taken very seriously and they had what they called a safeguard team to ensure sores did not get that bad. This clearly proves to me lessons were not learned by this at all.”

Mrs Crane was admitted to Basildon Hospital in August 2010 and lost more than three stones, while suffering the ulcers, before being moved to nursing homes and finally, Southend Hospital , where she died in December that year, aged 85.

The death certificate gave dementia and bowel cancer as the causes of death, but Mrs Franklin said the sores never healed before she died.

Hospital records of the meeting with Mrs Franklin recorded an acceptance she and her mother had been let down, there problems with nutrition and the sores were unacceptable.

New precautions are working, say managers

HOSPITAL bosses admitted the number of pressure sores suffered by patients had  not dropped since Mrs Franklin’s complaint.
They insist this is because there has been greater awareness of the problem because of a campaign to improve the situation.
A spokesman said: “The elimination of avoidable pressure ulcers is a major priority and we are making a great effort to achieve this.”
She said the Stop the Pressure, campaign, launched in May,  encouraged staff, patients and visitors to prevent, recognise and treat pressure ulcers.
Other measures include:

• New guidance on preventing and managing ulcers
• A new system for grading pressure ulcers
• Regular comfort rounds to check patients’ skin and ensure they are clean, dry and were offered fluids and food
• Better monitoring and supervision of patients’ nutrition.

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