Decision report 201201818

Summary

Mr C complained about the board’s management of his wounds. He advised that he had to wait up to four days to have the wound dressings changed, whereas he felt they should be changed every two days. In responding to Mr C, the board indicated that, due to the nature of the skin breaks, the healing tissues should not be disturbed unless necessary.

We took independent advice from one of our clinical advisers, who said that the frequency with which dressings should be changed varies depending on factors such as clinical need, dressing type and physical conditions. Having reviewed the schedule for Mr C's dressing changes, she was content that he was having his wounds cared for in the most appropriate manner. We accepted this advice and did not uphold the complaint. However, we identified that, on occasion, the board had failed to record details of Mr C's dressing changes, and our adviser confirmed that the record keeping could have been better in this case. In responding to our enquiry, the board acknowledged this deficiency, apologised and confirmed they had raised it with the staff involved. We considered this reasonable and had no further recommendations to make.