European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel

As I started preparing this letter, the first for 2008, I thought about what the year has in store for EPUAP and its members. Inevitably, my first thoughts turned to the guidelines. This is such an exciting project and at times it can feel all-consuming. Despite the hard work and the challenges that have occurred along the way, there has also been a sense of camaraderie amongst all of us, and a deepening friendship with our American colleagues. Not that we have completed our journey yet and we still have much work to do as can be seen if you read the guideline paper in this issue. Much of what we have achieved would not have happened without the hard work of Katrien Vanderwee, our project worker. I think I speak for all those involved in the guideline work when I say how much we appreciate it. Katrien will shortly be going on maternity leave and we wish her a happy delivery and an enjoyable time at home, knowing that we shall be looking forward to her return!

EPUAP will be present at the World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS) meeting in Toronto in June. This major event, held every four years, seeks to bring together people with a passion for wound care from across the world. The conference theme is: Wound Care Efficacy, Effectiveness & Efficiency. There are a number of topic areas such as:

• The evidence base criteria and research
• Provider education and outcomes
• Patient quality of life and pain
• Government and health care systems
• Local wound bed preparation and infection
• Specific wound types and their diagnosis and treatment, such as pressure ulcers.

Several Trustees will be presenting papers as part of the pressure ulcer ‘stream' and it will also provide EPUAP and NPUAP an opportunity to discuss the challenges we have found in developing the guideline work and debate them with a wide audience

The next major event in the EPUAP calendar will be our conference in Bruges, 4-6 September. Bruges is sometimes called the Venice of the North and is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It is situated in the western part of Belgium and only a short distance away from the Belgian Coast. The capital of Belgium, Brussels, is only 100 km away. The conference venue is Saint John's Hospital, which was one of the oldest existing hospitals in Europe. However, in 1978 it ceased to be a hospital and was turned into a museum as well as a conference centre. Originally the hospital's purpose was to provide food and shelter for pilgrims, passers by, and travelling salesmen, and to take care of the sick if they were not contagious. It was run by Brothers and Sisters from a religious order. Today it is possible to visit the old pharmacy, the collection of historic medical equipment, and some of the former hospital wards. I hope that many of you will be able to attend the conference and also take advantage of the many delights that Bruges has to offer. Full details can be found on the EPUAP website and it is possible to submit abstracts and register for the conference on-line.

Carol Dealey

President