Support Stop Pressure Ulcers Day

We were at the annual European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel conference in Belfast recently where we met the inspirational and dedicated minds behind treating and, more importantly, preventing pressure ulcers. EPUAP’s aim is to overcome the challenges faced by patients with pressure ulcers, by developing research and educational opportunities to help all of us learn how to reduce the occurrence of a pressure injury, leading to a reduction in both unnecessary suffering and treatment costs.

Today is ‘World Wide Pressure Injury Prevention Day’, so what better day to let you know what you can do to help!

Pressure ulcers are painful and debilitating. Effective treatment is crucial. If the ulcer is on a limb, a LimbO can be used to keep dressings dry and clean when bathing or showering. Left untreated, a pressure ulcer can lead to infection and even amputation.

As many as 23% of the current hospitalized population may have a pressure ulcer, and many of these are preventable.

EPUAP encourages us all to raise awareness of pressure ulcers and work towards reducing the number of patients with pressure ulcers.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

·         Host educational activities on prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers;

·         Organise awareness raising events to share information about pressure ulcers;

·         Reach out to your local community to inform them about pressure ulcers;

·         Make policy makers aware about pressure ulcers.

If you are interested in finding out more, there’s lots of free educational material produced by EPUAP on their website – click epuap.org to learn more.

Image source:

http://www.epuap.org/projects/