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Stop the pressure day 2025 - Small actions, big impact
Today (20 November 2025) is International Stop the Pressure Day, an annual event to raise awareness of the impact of pressure ulcers.
Did you know? … Over 700,000 people are affected by pressure ulcers in the UK, of which 180,000 are newly diagnosed each year.
The average cost of treating a pressure ulcer is £11,703.54 per pressure ulcer treatment, per day. That’s a cost of
£22.4 million per day to the NHS. Stop the Pressure Day highlights the enormous cost of pressure ulcers, both to individuals, and to the healthcare system.
We are leading the way with the campaign, talking about this sensitive topic in order to help every SCI person have up-to-date knowledge on managing their own skin, plus access to the healthcare services that could help them.
To mark this year’s theme of small actions, BIG IMPACT, we hope to increase everyone’s knowledge of pressure ulcers and how the impact could be reduced by smaller actions being taken.
Pressure ulcers are among the major complications of spinal cord injury (SCI), and they are something you will be reminded of time and again. It’s easy to become complacent about checking your skin daily, but the consequences of pressure ulcers can be serious. They can result in weeks or even months of bed rest and will cause much disruption to your daily routines, work and social life. So let’s STOP the Pressure together!
Pressure ulcers are a concerning and largely avoidable harm associated with healthcare delivery (NHS Improvement, 2018)
Brian’s story
What Matters 2025 – survey results
In our most recent survey in 2025 761 people with a spinal cord injury, shared their lived experiences with us, answering questions and sharing stories across mind, body and daily life. This included pressure sores, and those results can be found below:
Nearly one in five experienced a pressure ulcer in the past year and almost a quarter said it wasn’t correctly diagnosed or treated
Some people shared more information about how their pressure sores were treated, and 29% of the commenters pressure sores either came from, or worsened as a result of poor standards of care. Additionally, over half (53%) of people were not moved regularly, or helped to change positions and just under half (46%) of respondents were given a mattress designed to help prevent pressure ulcers/skin damage – these are simple methods to reduce the likelihood of pressure ulcers
29% of the commenters said their pressure sores either came from, or worsened as a result of poor standards of care.
I was on a hospital trolley for 31 hours in A&E before I was given a profile bed with an airflow mattress. I had asked for one after three hours when I was told I was to be admitted. My skin broke into a deep pressure sore. (SIA member)
The Society of Tissue Viability
The Society of Tissue Viability has been leading the way during Stop the Pressure and this year they announced the theme of …
What matters to me is…”
For more information on pressure ulcers, please visit Spinal Injury & Caring For Your Skin and click on the factsheet Pressure Ulcers: The Basics below to download:
READ MORE ABOUT GENERAL SKINCARE
Help us to spread the word on Stop the Pressure Day by sharing our SIA posts on social media and using #StopThePressure