All healthcare workers need to be aware that all hospitalised patients are at varying degrees of risk from reduced mobility. While on clinical placements you will see that many patients are prescribed...

All healthcare workers need to be aware that all hospitalised patients are at varying degrees of risk from reduced mobility.

While on clinical placements you will see that many patients are prescribed medications to prophylactically prevent some of the possible complications of bed rest. Listed below are some extremely common pathologies associated with prolonged immobility. See if you can think of ways of preventing their development:

Pneumonia

Deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism

Pressure-related sores

Thrombophlebitis

Urine infections

Constipation

Malnutrition

The development of most of these pathologies are often associated with poor levels of nursing care, negligence on behalf of the carers and a failure in the nurse’s duty of care (NMC 2004).