Managing pressure sores in the community

A six-month project was undertaken in the Portsmouth HealthCare NHS Trust to identify the prevalence of pressure sores and assess current practice and level of knowledge among nurses working in the community. Questionnaires were returned by 99 nurses and the pressure sore prevalence was found to be 4.4%; 72% of respondents performed pressure sore risk assessment routinely, 49% had access to appropriate equipment and 60% had good or acceptable levels of knowledge. However, 40% had poor knowledge of risk factors for pressure sore development, and 80% did not routinely carry out mattress testing. Eighty-five per cent of nurses stated that they would like a specialist advisory service.