Paul Trueman

The general consensus is that the majority of pressure ulcers are deemed ‘avoidable.’ Yet, as we approach another Stop Pressure Ulcer Day (19 November), I see avoidable pressure ulcers still occurring everyday across all sites of care.  It seems to me that current guidelines, policies and training programmes are still insufficient to tackle this growing […]

The European Parliament adopted another report this week focused on safety in healthcare highlighting the huge costs to healthcare systems, not to mention the enormous costs to patients, for preventable injuries, complications and infections.  While I admire the Parliament’s attention to these issues, it is still clear that many of the calls for improved monitoring […]

When the European Commission published its secondary report on patient safety, it made me wonder why advanced wound care is not higher on the patient safety agenda at EU and national levels? Not that it’s a competition, but the incidence of wounds in the EU is approximately 4 million (!), which is on par with cancer (3,9 mill), cerebrovascular disease (3,9 mill), and diabetes (2 mill.).

The wound care debated has progressed for sure, but there’s much more do to be done to make sure than wound care in Europe gets the attention it deserves.

The EU’s on the right track, but…

Despite the overwhelming impact that wounds have on healthcare systems, many people are still unaware of the risks for developing wounds when entering a healthcare setting.  In fact, 27-50 percent of acute hospital beds are likely to be occupied on any day by patients with a wound. Many of these patients will be at high risk of infection, which can result in extended hospital stays and for some, amputation.  Yet, patients can be better protected against such risks by instituting evidenced based guidelines in healthcare settings that include multidisciplinary approaches to wound care treatment.