Beds and mattresses

Many of the practices undertaken to prevent and treat pressure ulcers are contentious, based on estimates and guesses rather than evidence.¹ One of the areas of greatest uncertainty, the role of pressure-redistributing support surfaces, has become a common foundation to pressure ulcer care. Since Hibbs² described an ideal shopping list of support surfaces for a large combined acute and community care provider, special mattresses have been widely disseminated throughout health care services in the UK and beyond.¹ This utilisation has not been inexpensive, with 7-8% of all pressure ulcer costs attributed to the acquisition of mattresses.^3,4