Campaigning

Stop the Pressure

International Stop the Pressure (STP) day is an annual event to raise awareness of the impact of pressure ulcers.

2025 STP theme – small actions, BIG IMPACT (Thursday 20 November)

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.

We are leading the way with the ‘Stop The Pressure’ 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.

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.

What Matters 2025 – survey results:

1/5

Nearly one in five experienced a pressure ulcer in the past year and almost a quarter said it wasn’t correctly diagnosed or treated

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)

29%

29% of the commenters said that their pressure sores either came from, or worsened as a result of poor standards of care.

Past themes

Please click on the links/logos below to find out more about our previous themes:

2022 – Don’t sit on it

2023 – Every contact counts

2024 – Everyone is different, but pressure ulcers don’t discriminate #CheckEveryTone

Stop the Pressure Day Stories …

Hear from some of our members about their own experience of pressure ulcers and how they impact daily life.

More information

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: