A single pressure injury costs a day's wage, every day

The directives say that healthcare should provide better care with fewer resources, which can be seen as opposites to each other. However, Care of Sweden's updated health economical report shows that there is a lot of money to be saved, simply by purchasing the right type of mattress.

For many years, Care of Sweden has continuously updated the health economic report, produced in close collaboration with Nordic Health Economics.

In the latest model we have broken down the figures and also looked at a hospital and clinic level. We have examined, among other things, the number of care units and how much an individual organization can save, says Annabelle Forsmark at Nordic Health Economics. 

The results were astounding – it turned out that you could make incredible savings.

A mattress can drastically reduce costs

Up to 90 % of the cost of pressure injuries can be calculated in working hours, where additional costs for dressings, substrates, and antibiotics are added on top. Several reports indicate a doubled time of care when pressure injuries occur. Up to 60 days for a category 1 pressure injury and up to 170 days for a category 4 injury. 

A single pressure injury costs a typical day's wage to treat, which makes pressure injuries the second most expensive injury in Sweden, next to care-related infections, says Anne Lindeborg, Education- and Clinical manager at Care of Sweden. 

Thus, there are massive potential savings to be made just by purchasing a single mattress, getting increasingly higher with every additional purchase.