Dear Friends

I feel very happy and proud to be the fourth President of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel. As the new President I wanted to take the opportunity to share my commitment for the vision and future of the EPUAP. First of all let us go back to our mission statement: ‘The EPUAP objective is to provide the relief of persons suffering from, or at risk of pressure ulcers, in particular through research and the education of the public’. To what extent have we met these objectives? Considerable progress has been made – through the EPUAP working groups, the EPUAP Review, our web site and of course the annual meetings which are always a large success in terms sharing knowledge and expertise. This year I believe the EPUAP made a decisive step during our seventh Open Meeting in Tampere where we asked ‘have we made a difference?’ I am confident that we have indeed made that difference and would like to thank all those people who have been involved in making the EPUAP what it is today. However, we cannot be complacent, resting on past success. We have to continue to move forward towards our objective – the relief of persons suffering from pressure ulcers.

In its short lifetime the EPUAP has also shown a model whereby we in Europe can work together for the common benefit of those who face pressure ulcers. This capacity for sharing and learning from one another is a key step towards winning the war against pressure ulcers and marks our unity throughout Europe and across the world.

Happy new year 2004!

Denis Colin
President