Pressure ulcers

This clinical guideline is in the process of being updated by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). For details, see the Pressure ulcers update.

This topic has also been referred to NICE by the Department of Health and development of a quality standard will follow in due course. View: Quality standards in development

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The management of pressure ulcers in primary and secondary care: a clinical practice guideline

The guideline was developed by the RCN for NICE. This document describes the methods used by the RCN for developing the guidelines and presents the resulting recommendations with supporting evidence reviews. This guideline should be used in conjunction with the NICE guideline for risk assessment and prevention of pressure ulcers published in 2003 (245 pages).

The prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers

This summarises the recommendations made in ‘The management of pressure ulcers in primary and secondary care’ and in ‘Pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention’ (two pages).

Sources of recommendations used in the quick reference guide ‘The prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers’

This document provides the sources for each of the recommendations made indicating which publication and where within that publication provides the source (13 pages).

Pressure ulcers – prevention and treatment: information for the public

This information describes the guidance that NICE has issued to the NHS on pressure ulcers. It is based on ‘The prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers’ clinical guideline as described in the Quick reference guide number 29 (20 pages).

The use of pressure-relieving devices (beds, mattresses and overlays) for the prevention of pressure ulcers in primary and secondary care

NICE commissioned the National Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Supportive Care (NCC-NSC) to develop a guideline on the use of pressure-relieving devices – specifically beds, mattresses and overlays – for the prevention of pressure ulcers, to supplement the NICE inherited guideline on risk assessment and prevention published in 2001. The main objective of the guideline was to establish the most clinically and cost effective beds, mattresses or overlays for preventing pressure sores (126 pages).

Pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention: implementation guide and audit protocol 2003

This implementation guide describes how to improve the quality of care for people at risk of developing pressure ulcers by implementing the Royal College of Nursing clinical practice guideline 'Pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention '(RCN, 2001). It identifies the factors that will increase the chances of successfully putting the guideline recommendations into practice, by setting out practical steps and using examples from practice using the clinical audit cycle as a framework for both implementing the guideline and evaluating any subsequent improvement (64 pages).

Pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention: report of a national audit project

This report presents findings from an 18 month national audit pilot project managed and co-ordinated by the Quality Improvement Programme, Royal College of Nursing Institute.  The aim of the project was to improve pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention, through dissemination and implementation of the RCN guideline ‘Risk Assessment and Prevention of Pressure Ulcers’ (RCN 2001), and a baseline and follow up audit of practice using specifically developed audit tools (68 pages).

Pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention: recommendations 2001

This guideline was commissioned by the Department of Health from the RCN and was inherited by NICE when it was established in 1999. The guideline published by NICE on pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention is derived from this RCN clinical guideline.

Pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention (Inherited clinical guideline B)

The NICE clinical guideline on pressure ulcers provides advice on best practice for clinicians and patient/carers on avoiding getting a pressure ulcer and is derived from a detailed guideline, which the Department of Health commissioned from the Royal College of Nursing (17 pages).

Pressure ulcer risk assessment and prevention

This guideline was commissioned from the Royal College of Nursing by the Department of Health and was developed in collaboration with an inter-disciplinary group, including users and carers, to direct care towards clinically appropriate and cost effective interventions based on best evidence. The purpose of this report is to provide guideline users with an audit trail of the guideline’s development.