It remains widely quoted that 95% of pressure ulcers (PUs) are avoidable. However, in the second year of reporting on six acute Trusts within NHS Midlands and East, pooled data collected between April 2013 and March 2014 on hospital-acquired category IIIIV PUs again found the percentage of avoidable PUs to be less than a third of this 95% figure. In addition, this report includes category II PUs. The implications of these findings with regard to looking at avoidable PU prevention will be discussed in this article.
