Number of reported bedsores in Nova Scotia hospitals soar

Tom Ayers · CBC News

· Posted: May 20, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The fig of superior bedsores reportedly recovered successful patients successful Nova Scotia hospitals has risen, but the state says it is lone due to the fact that it is counting them differently.

However, a diligent information advocator says that's nary comfort because they shouldn't hap astatine all.

The fig of signifier 3 and 4 bedsores reported by the Health Department successful the astir caller quarter tripled erstwhile compared to the mean implicit the past 2 years.

"That is not peculiarly alarming to maine based connected the information that we person disposable to us, but surely wide we are not wherever we would similar to beryllium arsenic an enactment and we admit that we person betterment to bash and are very, precise committed to doing that work," said Rochelle Currie, Nova Scotia Health's elder manager of prime improvement.

The mean was 21, but determination were 70 from October to December 2024, though the state says 2 of those really occurred successful the erstwhile quarter.

Currie said she is acrophobic by the latest numbers, but they are not a surprise.

The state annually conducts a one-day blitz successful October to place signifier 3 and 4 bedsores, which are the worst ones and tin pb to sepsis and death, and past year's lawsuit coincided with a alteration successful argumentation connected reporting that added a caller class of wounded called "unstageable."

Currie said studies person shown astir unstageable wounds are successful information signifier 3 oregon signifier 4 that person started to heal, making them much hard to place and categorize.

Nova Scotia Health present reports those wounds on with signifier 3 and 4 wounds and that's wherefore the numbers spiked past fall, she said.

Compared to the aforesaid 4th the erstwhile year, the fig jumped by 53 per cent, and 49 per cent of those were unstageable, Currie said.

The numbers are reported quarterly connected the Health Department's superior reportable events website. The state calls them unit ulcers, but they are bedsores, besides known arsenic unit wounds oregon unit injuries.

Bedsores a stubborn occupation for years

Currie said if the "unstageable" numbers are removed, the worst bedsores acquired successful infirmary are up lone a small bit.

But they've been a stubborn occupation for years.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information does not way information nationally connected conscionable signifier 3 and 4 bedsores, but it does person full numbers and the incidence rates for each stages of bedsores reported successful hospitals crossed Canada.

The numbers amusement Nova Scotia's incidental complaint has been consistently higher than immoderate different state implicit the past 5 years, and that its full numbers and incidence complaint doubled 2 years ago.

The institure says it's not imaginable to comparison 1 state to another because diligent populations differ.

Currie said Nova Scotia infirmary patients are typically older and frail and they thin to person aggregate chronic wellness problems that marque them much susceptible to bedsores.

Advocate says bedsores unacceptable

She said it's not wide wherefore the province's numbers roseate 2 years ago, but officials are present refocusing their efforts by taking a provincewide attack to sharing champion practices.

"Pressure injuries are thing that the enactment takes precise earnestly and thing that we're committed to improving," she said.

"In fact, unit wounded prevention has been identified arsenic 1 of the organization's apical priorities."

Katharina Kovacs Burns, seat of Patients for Patient Safety Canada, said she believes the fig of hospital-acquired bedsores is not accurately recorded crossed Canada and that the incidence is really higher.

The enactment advocates for diligent information from each kinds of harms, but the fig of bedsores that scope signifier 3 oregon 4 successful infirmary is simply a captious concern, she said.

"Pressure injuries are 1 of those hidden benignant of incidents that look to creep up, but erstwhile they bash hap and it results successful the tegument breaking, past it is precise hard to heal."

'It is preventable'

"By the clip they scope signifier 3 [or] 4, that means that decidedly determination has not been the attraction fixed to bash hazard appraisal oregon to reposition patients oregon to be to them successful a mode to forestall that tegument from breaking, truthful that's the alarming part."

Kovacs Burns said determination are a assortment of reasons radical get bedsores,  but with care, they should not advancement to the worst stages.

"It is simply a ne'er event. It is preventable and truthful I deliberation determination isn't for maine an acceptable level. It should conscionable ne'er happen."

Kovacs Burns said household tin assistance engaged wellness attraction unit forestall bedsores from becoming a problem.

She said patients request to beryllium checked regularly and shifted successful furniture oregon provided with devices to forestall bedsores from becoming unhealthy wounds.