New bedside monitor could reduce number of patients with pressure sores
- Mar 31, 2016
- EmmaArnold
A new bedside pressure monitoring device is being trialled which could potentially reduce the number of patients with pressure sores.
Royal Oldham Hospital (pictured left: Pauline Abraham, Ward Manager) is trying out the new device which uses a pressure sensing mat which shows where patients are experiencing areas of high pressure whilst lying in bed.
The Monitor Alert Protect (MAP) system is on trial for two months in two other hospitals in the country and costs around £5,000.
It uses thousands of tiny sensors to detect the high pressure and this information is then sent through to the monitor screen which colour-codes the reading.
Hannah Bottomley, clinical negligence solicitor at PotterReesDolan, said:
I was thrilled to read about the Pennine Acute Trust’s introduction of a new monitoring system in relation to pressure ulcers. These types of ulcers and sores are not only very painful for the patient but can also lead to some very serious consequences and as a result it is fantastic to read that a local Trust is implementing a new system in order to try and reduce the ulcers occurring in the first instance.
Anyone who has ever suffered a pressure ulcer will understand how they can develop and become worse very quickly so prevention really is key.
It is always upsetting coming across patients who have developed a pressure ulcer whilst in hospital, this can often lead to their stay in hospital being prolonged and more painful so anything to cut down on pressure ulcers occurring would, I'm sure, be widely welcomed by patients and doctors alike.
There is a function on the device which allows staff to set alarms as reminders to check if a patient needs repositioning.
Read about our client who developed serious pressure sores after being left in his hospital bed too long after he suffered a spinal injury.