Are bedsores a sign of nursing home neglect?

Having an elderly loved one stay in an extended care facility or nursing home in Kentucky may be necessary if your loved one can’t take care of themselves. The staff has a responsibility to ensure that elderly patients have a plan of care to avoid bedsores. Keeping a close eye on the skin of each resident is essential to prevent open sores from occurring. Failure to do so may be due to negligence on the part of the nursing home facility.

Watching for bedsores is critical

Due to their inability to move as easily as a younger individual, an elderly patient staying in a nursing home is more prone to getting a bedsore. Having this occur to a resident can be challenging to treat and opens up the risk for infection or worse. Open wounds can be painful and become deadly fast.

Ensuring a resident that isn’t lying in one place too long is critical to keep bedsores from forming. The staff at a nursing home should be trained to look for the signs of a sore and reposition an individual every few hours, relieving pressure and helping to ensure that the skin stays intact. Keeping the skin dry and clean is also necessary to avoid an open sore.

Has nursing home negligence occurred?

If you’ve noticed one or more bedsores appear on a tailbone, hip, heel or other parts of your loved one’s body when they are staying at a nursing home, it’s critical to question the plan of care being implemented. Bedsores shouldn’t happen if a resident is being cared for correctly.

Allowing an elderly resident to lay in one spot too long or be exposed to bodily fluids can quickly create an open sore. Having a professional investigate the situation for nursing home negligence may be necessary if your loved one is in this position. It’s important to determine the reasons why the neglect occurred, especially if you want to seek compensation for the harm done.

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