No one goes to hospital thinking their stay might add to their injuries - but this can happen with the age-old problem of bedsores.

So a new effort by King Edward VII Memorial Staff has slashed the problem by 25 percent in two years.

And a new unit opening next month will address the wider problems of wound care.

Hospital chiefs acted after a March 2001 study showed bed sores were ten percent more prevalent than in a comparable US hospital.

New procedures helped early diagnosis while US experts have trained staff on dressing wounds.

New equipment includes:

Shiny sheets which reduce skin friction and absorb moisture more easily

Cleansing products used for incontinence patient which provide hygiene without removing the skin's own protective fat layer

Extra absorbent mattresses.

Staff have been trained to make beds with a bit of give in the sheets.

Wound management specialist Dr. Wolfgang Spangenberger said: "According to the army if you can drop a pen on the sheet it should bounce back.

"That is not the way for a bed ridden patient. The whole thing should move according to the body needs. Reducing friction provides protection.

"Bed sores don't only occur to the elderly or incontinent. Young immobilised trauma patients are also at risk."

Sleeping positions don't matter but diet and the ability to reposition is crucial to stopping sores said Dr. Spangenberger.

Some bed sores can get so bad they need surgery and will prolong a patient's stay.

The hospital is also reaching out to the island's nursing homes to give them tips. Last week it held a seminar run by a US specialist.

Dr. Spangenberger said wound care was not glamorous but was crucial to overall care.

He said: "Everybody is at risk.

"Even some redness you would not realise is pressure sores is counted as such."

With the new approach it is possible to reverse 50 percent of bed-sore wounds says Dr Wolfgang Spangenberger while only five percent will get worse.

"There's still room for improvement," said Dr. Spangenberger, who has been in Bermuda ten years after working in Europe and the States.

And a wound centre is due to open next month with around four specialist doctors and nurses dealing with acute wounds, chronic wounds, ulcers and amputations.

"We want to close the gap between inpatient care and outpatient care. The goal is to co-ordinate everything available to maximum efficiency."