The Tissue Viability Society has joined the National Skin Care Campaign, members of which attend meetings of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Skin held four times a year at the House of Commons. In October last year, two members of the society were asked to make presentations to the group concerning the care of pressure sores and leg ulcers. In this article, we summarise their presentations

Pressure sores are caused by illness and immobility and are common in elderly people and those with spinal injuries. A survey carried out in seven general hospitals in the UK has shown that the prevalence of such sores is acute with up to a quarter of patients having sores. The number of sufferers in the community is not known.