The incidence of pressure ulcers have for a long time been indicative of good care but is it realistic that they should never occur? NICE guidelines state that every patient should be assessed for their risk of developing pressure ulcers within 6 hours of their admission and if ther are at risk the preventative measures need to be taken. As nurses we are more than used to ensuring that this happens with the use of such tools as The Waterlow Scale but as the population ages and cutbacks occur is it realistic that pressure ulcers do not exist at all? A recent Nursing Times article by Judy Hawker states "We are seeing an upsurge in the prevalence of patients at risk of pressure ulcers, with an increase in the elderly and underlying risk factors such as diabetes and obesity." With this in mind are we striving to achieve the unachieable ? (Thanks goes to @anniecoops for this discussion suggestion)

1. Tuesday 20th September 2011 at 8pm
#NurChat Will be discussing…
“Should pressure ulcers
never occur?”
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