Bedsore: A Visible sign of Nursing Negligence

Nursing Negligence as we have said in previous posts, is the breach in professional duty of a nurse. It is an act done that in comparison, a prudent nurse would never do under same circumstances.

This may well be observed in acute care setting. You do not see this normally in hospitals except for patients who have been confined for quite for months. This is well evident in nursing homes where long term bed ridden patients are cared for.

When you go and visit a loved one in a nursing home and a nurses aide comes in to attend to your loved one, you noticed a big sore on the side of their leg. When you question it, the nursing aide claims that it is noting but a simple sore. This is where you start to ring the nursing negligence alarm. What you are actually looking at are signs of nursing home negligence on the part of the Nursing Home which your loved one is staying.

A decubitus ulcer is caused by long time pressure on a certain part of the body like bone elongation sites. This can be in a form of a simple red or pink mark on the skin or it can be as bad as a very deep sore that reaches into the bone or internal organ. They are caused by prolonged pressure on a particular part of the body and are seen on elder patients who are bedridden. Most nursing facilities have a policy to turn bedridden patients once every two hours in order to prevent decubitus ulcers from forming. This is a nursing standard that if not kept by the nursing home, will make them be liable to the law.

If your loved one has these decubitus ulcers, then they are not being turned in the bed as often as required and this is a form of neglect in a nursing home. These decubitus ulcers can lead to further complications, including death if not treated. Therefore, if you have seen a decubitus ulcer on your loved one, you should first consult with the doctors and nurses in the facility. If they fail to respond or give you a reasonable answer to why there are decubitus ulcers on your loved one, then you should consider filing a report or a complaint for a complaint.

The decubitus ulcer is often painful. So, your loved one may be in severe pain and unable to express their pain. They may be crying for help, but no one is listening. This is neglect. No one should have to suffer the pain of decubitus ulcers. Simply turning or repositioning your loved one every two hours will prevent these ulcers from forming. They should not be there in the first place, but if you do notice them, you should be informed that your loved one is experiencing some form of neglect in their nursing home. It is true that decubitus ulcers are considered preventable and the development of decubitus ulcers is evidence of some form of neglect. Many paralyzed or terminal individuals with very poor nutrition can be free of these ulcers. This can be accomplished by good patient care.

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If you're medically inclined, you better know what a DNR means. For patients or special someone's of patients, DNR stands for "Do Not Resuscitate", let nature run its course, or to put it more bluntly, the patient is on his own if this order is given.

If the patient would have a shock, a brain attack or a heart attack after this order has been given, the nurses would not give any medical procedure that could lead to the elderly patient's revival. It may sound strange to some people who are not exposed to the clinical setting a lot but in actuality, one may realize its importance along the way.

This order is generally given to elderly patients who usually reside in a nursing home. These patients who are often neglected and abused, usually have a terminal stage disease or illness and they usually have a 50/50 chance of surviving, that is, if they would ever function fully after they would recover.

You may ask: Who's gonna call the DNR order?

Usually, the patient's family would decide among themselves. Their decision would be guided upon by the doctor's diagnosis of the elderly patient's condition, his chances of survival, and overall prognosis. These factors, among others, are the basis of the family members to decide whether or not to give the Do Not Rescusitate Order.

What is the Ethical Basis of giving a DNR?

Personally, I hate giving ethical comments on issues on my line of work because people would not understand unless they are in someone's position like for instance, the patient who cannot verbally say it but would prefer to die than suffer excruciating pain every single second of their living days, or the family members who are paying massive amount of money every day for keeping a terminally ill elderly patient who's on coma and if given the chance to live, be on a certain vegetative state.

You see, its not a choice of yes or no (I really hope its as simple) but rather a cafeful weighing and sifting of pro's and con's, shades of whites and blacks and everything in between. When it comes down to it, in the clinical setting, I just hope and pray the family is doing the right thing. That's the best I can do for the patient at this time.

That's it for today's post folks. I would like to leave you on a reflective note by asking you the following questions:

What would you have done if you were the nurse? If youre one of the family members? What about if youre the patient?

Related Keywords: DNR orders, nursing home abuse, nursing negligence, nursing malpractice

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