How nutrition can help prevent and treat pressure ulcers

A balanced diet and good hydration are vital for patients to maintain robust and healthy skin

• Almost one in ten people in hospital have pressure ulcers, an audit of 10,000 inpatients in England in 2019 found
• Identification of malnourished individuals can prevent pressure ulcer development and speed up wound healing
• Why nutritional assessment should be a routine part of risk assessment for pressure ulcers

Nearly one in ten (9%) hospital inpatients had one or more pressure ulcers, according to a major audit in England in 2019 involving 10,000 people .

The figures serve to highlight the vast number of people affected by these potentially serious, painful, and