Prevalence of pressure damage in hospital patients in the UK.

This paper describes a method of determining the prevalence of pressure damage in hospital patients and gives some preliminary results. The same method and data collection systems were applied to seven different hospitals in the UK, and involved over 3 000 patients. The approach allows comparisons between hospitals and permits some interpretation of the national data. The methodology can be shown to be valid, reliable and reproducable, enabling it to be used to measure the effectiveness of policies and protocols. The cost of treating full-thickness pressure sores, and the resulting increase in patient length of stay has made it vital for hospitals to develop effective strategies both for prevention and treatment. Such a survey is an excellent tool for identifying opportunities to improve both these strategies. Such a survey is, ideally, part of a 'total quality outcome management' approach to the issue of pressure damage.