Patient advocate warns of rising bedsore cases in Nova Scotia hospitals

A patient safety advocate says the number of reported bedsores in Nova Scotia hospitals is on the rise.

Katharina Kovacs-Burns, chair of Patients for Patient Safety Canada, says the trend is very concerning.

She tells 95.7 NewsRadio that more needs to be done to curb the number of bedsores in the province’s hospitals.

“It’s a multi-level approach that needs to be taken,” said Kovacs-Burns. “All the way from government being aware of it, and public being aware of it, and certainly at the practice level—what do we do better about education and continually changing our practice to improve the prevention of pressure injuries.”

She says part of the problem is a lack of staff to help identify and prevent pressure injuries from developing or worsening.

Kovacs-Burns emphasizes these injuries are preventable, adding that families can assist busy hospital staff in preventing bedsores from becoming a serious issue.