Care home neglect 'not picked up by hospitals' Signatories include Cynthia Bower, the chief executive of the CQC, Peter Carter, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, and Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons public accounts committee. It is backed by the Professional Association of Clinical Coders and 16 hospital trusts. The letter says the checks "will allow clinicians to record if a fall, pressure sore or infection was present when a patient was admitted or if it developed whilst in hospital care - information we do not currently know." A POA flag will provide an early warning system in adult social care by identifying from where patients are being admitted, how often and whether their condition is an indicator of poor quality of care. The Care Quality Commission has signed up to the rapid introduction of a Present on Admission flag. The campaign was launched by Dr Foster Intelligence, which compiles annual figures ranking NHS hospitals. Roger Taylor, its director of research, said: "It's really important to know where these things happen, because everybody says 'It's not us." Because there's no flag, everybody can disown it. It means nobody takes responsibility for these problems. He said, for example, that official figures showed 40,000 people in NHS hospitals had bed sores last year - up to five per cent of the total. If large numbers were coming into hospitals with such problems, as statistics indicated, that suggested a problem with care in residential homes and the community. Dr Carter said: "We fully support this. It's not about blame, but it is about being clear what's happening, where and when. The letter has been sent to Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, as well as the health ministers, Simon Burns and Paul Burstow. Michelle Mitchell, the director general of Age UK, said: "It's important that such tools are part of a proper assessment process which includes assessments on admission, throughout a hospital stay and on discharge."