Pressure Sores: Prevention (Hansard, 8 June 1993)

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)
My Lords, the Department of Health and the Clinical Standards Advisory Group held a joint conference on 18th May —which I believe the noble Baroness 706 attended—to bring together a wide range of professional and management experience. That will be followed up with detailed, practical guidance.

§ Baroness Masham of Ikon
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Is the noble Baroness aware that the problem of human suffering to the individual through pressure sores, and the cost to the National Health Service, is enormous? Is she also aware that one case alone can involve as much as £100,000 in litigation? Would it not be wise to have a clear policy with clear guidelines for every health trust, hospital, district health authority and FHSA throughout the country?

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, yes, I am aware of the misery and the cost that the problem brings not only in human suffering but also financially. It is the Government's intention to avoid litigation. They recognise that the prevention of pressure sores is a vital issue for the quality of care in hospital and in the community. Next year all district health authority contracts will be required to include annual targets of at least 5 per cent. reduction in incidence. Performance in reaching those targets will be monitored by the NHS management executive.

§ Lord Carter
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that The Health of the Nation and the Green Paper indicated a target of 10 per cent. for the reduction of incidence of pressure sores? Have the Government reduced the target to 5 per cent.?

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, the target is a minimum. We hope that it would be 10 per cent.; but we recognise that first district health authorities have to collect the information to get the base line from which they set their target. Five per cent. is the minimum; but we would hope for more.

Lord Campbell of Croy
My Lords, in the days when there were matrons in most hospitals, they were very strict about daily attention and inspection to guard against such sores, as I well remember, having spent over a year as a patient in a large teaching hospital in 1945–46.

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, yes, I think my noble friend is perhaps a witness of the excellence of the National Health Service. The National Health Service is interested in quality of life and longevity. Perhaps I may wish the noble Lord a happy birthday, since I understand that it is his birthday today.

§ Baroness Seccombe
My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the pilot study that was made possible by Nuffield Hospitals' Theatre Nurse Award? It was undertaken at the Hartlepool NHS Hospital, to investigate whether it is necessary to prevent pressure sores developing during the operative period. The results, most unexpectedly, revealed that 50 per cent. of the people who were sampled had changes in the skin before the operation and further changes in the immediate post-operative period. Does my noble friend agree that that result alone indicates that there should be further investigation of the whole area of intra-operative pressure sores?

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, yes, I agree with my noble friend. I am aware of that piece of research which is of great interest. It will be part of the future study of the Clinical Standards Advisory Group which is looking into it.

§ Baroness Masham of Ilton
My Lords, does the Minister believe that managers in the health service and the private service understand the importance of equipment such as mattresses and turning beds to prevent pressure sores? I refer also to the training of nurses and other staff.

§ Baroness Cumberlege
My Lords, yes, there are some specialist nurses who are particularly expert in that field. In their contracts for next year, district health authorities have been asked to pay special attention to the equipment that is needed in order to prevent the sores.