THE number of elderly patients suffering bedsores on wards in Singleton and Morriston Hospital has hit epidemic proportions, a health watchdog member has claimed.
Alison Morgan, a Swansea member of Abertawe Bro Morgannwg Community Health Council (CHC), said some bed- bound pensioners were also suffering from malnutrition.
It was also claimed at the CHC meeting that some patients who were incontinent were not being attended to regularly.
Health board bosses have denied the claims, saying they remained committed to "treating patients with the utmost level of dignity and respect and ensuring care is tailored to their needs."
Mrs Morgan said that, in her opinion, some elderly patients were suffering malnutrition due to poor hospital care.
"Elderly people who are having treatment in local hospitals have lost weight and have pressure sores — I have heard it's an epidemic."
Mrs Morgan said she had heard about the case of an elderly man whose health deteriorated shortly after he left hospital.
"When he left hospital he lost so much weight he could be carried," she added.
"He had a pressure (bed) sore.''
It was also claimed during the CHC meeting that some patients being treated on ward six in Singleton Hospital and who had suffered from incontinence had not been changed regularly. Health bosses have strenuously denied the claim and said there had been no recent complaints about the ward.
Fellow Swansea CHC member Julie O'Connor told the meeting that the issue of bed sores in hospitals was not unique to the elderly.
"It's also vulnerable adults who have the same problems," she said.
Swansea CHC member Councillor Sue Jones then raised a number of issues on behalf of Councillor Jeff Jones, who had left the meeting, about care of elderly patients at Singleton Hospital.
"Jeff (Jones) has asked me to bring up ward six in Singleton Hospital about patients who are unable to feed themselves and incontinence patients not being changed," she added. "Has there been any progress on that particular issue?"
But the issues were not addressed at the meeting.
Nicola Williams, assistant director of nursing, at ABMU Health Board said: "ABM is committed to treating all our patients with the utmost level of dignity and respect and ensuring they have the right standards of care tailored to their needs. ABM has one of the lowest incident rates of pressure ulcer development in the UK.
"We have led the way on targeted work to reduce pressure sores, and this has since been implemented across the whole of Wales, hospitals in England, Scotland, and most recently Denmark."
"In 2009/2010, as part of the Empowering Ward Sisters Programme, we launched Fundamentals of Care audits. Fundamentals of Care are 12 care standards which we expect our staff to provide. They include ensuring patients are eating and drinking properly, and are weighed regularly and assisted to eat and drink when required; have their toileting and continence needs fully met; treating people with dignity and respect and avoiding pressure ulcers — all of which apply to this patient. We carry out audits to ensure these Fundamentals of Care are being provided, and also ask patients and their relatives how we are doing."
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