Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the (a) number and (b) rate was of hospital acquired pressure ulcers in the NHS in each of the last eight years; and if he will publish the most recent figures by region.
Patient safety remains a key priority of this Government. While there are various tools and mechanisms for reporting pressure ulcers in the National Health Service, the data is not held in the format requested and therefore the most recent figures cannot be published by region.
However, the NHS Safety Thermometer is a point prevalence survey used to record the presence or absence of four harms including pressure ulcers which have developed 72 hours or more following admission or have deteriorated following admission.
Data reports from the NHS Safety Thermometer dating back to August 2012 show a downward trend in incidents of pressure ulcers reported by hospitals from 1.3% in August 2012, to 0.9% in January 2018, the most recent data.
NHS Safety Thermometer Dashboard
Reported Pressure Ulcers | Percentage |
January 2018 | 0.9 |
March 2017 | 1.0 |
March 2016 | 0.9 |
March 2015 | 1.0 |
March 2014 | 1.0 |
March 2013 | 1.3 |
August 2012 | 1.3 |
Source: