Bedsores an NHS disgrace

Yes, the NHS has a bedsores crisis.

Hospitals are being "named and shamed" in an effort to end the bedsore crisis which is costing the NHS £4 billion a year.

It's serious, then.

Bedsores kill almost as many patients as the MRSA superbug, and health chiefs warn the cost of treating sufferers uses 4% of the entire NHS budget.

We've heard a lot more about MRSA than bedsores. Could it be because they're less dramatic? - this crisis seems to be a failure of basic nursing care.

The sores cause hundreds of deaths a year, taking hold when bed-bound patients are not regularly turned over or given special mattresses by nurses.

The worst hospitals had bedsore rates four times higher than the national average.

A union leader argues for the status quo:

Thousands of nurses are losing their jobs and this could lead to a rise in the number of patients with bedsores.

Yes, we noticed the could. But the point is that many nurses aren't doing their job already. Action Against Medical Accidents seem to be on the button, saying bedsores are completely avoidable.

Its down poor nursing care and there should be zero tolerance of bed sores. But sadly they are accepted and it leads to a lot of misery and suffering for patients and their relatives.

These are highly preventable. Stopping them is not rocket science. But in many hospitals they happen too easily.

Many of the shamed hospitals, we are told, have said they are taking action. That's what they always say. They issue an emollient statement and wait for public attention to move on.

These are the managements who tolerated bedsores in their hospitals. Why should we think they are the right people to deal with this negligent nursing?

Just don't expect anyone in the NHS to be held accountable.