Pressure ulcers cost the NHS an estimated £3.8 million every single day, with the majority of these injuries being preventable. Yet across the country, equipment is often pushed far beyond its intended lifespan, due to the complex balance of clinical needs, tight budgets, and procurement requirements. Over time this drains budgets, undermines care quality and places additional strain on already stretched staff.
In my 10+ years of owning and running a medical device company that works alongside NHS teams, I’ve seen that this isn’t about a lack of commitment or clinical skill. It’s about the tools we give frontline staff to deliver the best care. When mattresses fail, when equipment can’t adapt to the patient’s changing needs, and when procurement cycles prioritise lowest-price over long-term value, the consequences are predictable - higher rates of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, higher treatment costs, longer stays in acute care settings, and poorer patient outcomes.
The reality behind the numbers
According to NHS England Safety Thermometer data, more than 24,500 patients developed new pressure ulcers while in care in a single year. These injuries can lead to prolonged hospital stays, increased risk of infection, and in severe cases, life-threatening complications.
The economic toll is staggering. But the human cost - for patients, families, and clinical teams - is even greater. In too many cases, pressure ulcers occur not because the risk wasn’t identified, but because the equipment failed to prevent it.
When patient flow creates added risk
The challenge is amplified by today’s patient flow pressures. Across the NHS, more people with complex, long-term conditions are remaining in acute settings for extended periods. These “stranded” patients are often medically fit for discharge but unable to leave due to delays in social care or community provision.
Extended hospital stays increase immobility time, which is one of the biggest risk factors for pressure ulcers. Acute wards are not designed for long-term occupancy, and when beds are occupied for weeks or months by patients with chronic needs, the standard support surfaces and rotation schedules often prove inadequate. This isn’t simply a clinical problem, it’s a system-wide capacity challenge that requires smarter, more adaptive equipment to mitigate risk.
Why the current model needs rethinking
The support surface market has been notoriously slow to innovate. Many suppliers have little incentive to produce more durable, adaptable products because high failure rates drive repeat sales. Over time, this has normalised a disposable mindset - the assumption that mattresses will fail within a short lifespan and must be replaced frequently.
From a procurement standpoint, budget constraints have reinforced this cycle. Decision-makers are under intense pressure to deliver annualised savings, which often means selecting lower-cost products without factoring in total lifecycle cost - including failure, disposal, and replacement. The result is a short-term saving that becomes a long-term drain.
Proving a better way works
When we developed the Trezzo range in 2017, our aim was to challenge this status quo with clinically validated, technically advanced products designed for real NHS conditions. By addressing the root causes of mattress failure, particularly fluid ingress and foam breakdown, we were able to create support surfaces with near-zero failure rates.
Independent evaluation by the University of Huddersfield demonstrated the impact. In two NHS Trusts, the installation of Trezzo mattresses cut dynamic mattress use by 70%, reducing average patient time on dynamic systems from 41 days to just 12.6 days. This translated into an 80% drop in treatment costs for pressure ulcer care, projecting annual savings of more than £54,000 across just 57 beds.
At St Helen’s & Knowsley Teaching Hospitals, 450 mattresses had been replaced in a single year due to cover failure before adopting Trezzo. During a 15-month trial of 40 Trezzo mattresses, zero failures were reported. The Trust has since rolled out the technology across all pressure ulcer prevention beds, with no recorded manufacturing failures to date.
The long-term value case
The evidence is clear that better-performing equipment delivers better outcomes, not only for patients, but for NHS budgets and the environment. Fewer failures mean less waste sent to landfill, fewer deliveries and disposals, and a reduced carbon footprint.
Yet the adoption challenge remains. To shift from short-term cost-cutting to long-term value creation, procurement frameworks must be willing to evaluate equipment on lifecycle performance, not just upfront price. This means factoring in durability, clinical effectiveness, adaptability to patient needs, and the potential to reduce dependency on more expensive or labour-intensive equipment.
A system-wide approach
Tackling the pressure ulcer crisis can’t be achieved by equipment alone. It requires a system-wide approach that combines clinical best practice with smarter technology, evidence-based procurement, and better integration between acute and community care.
One area where integration is critical is discharge planning. If a patient is admitted to hospital on a high-specification support surface but discharged to a care setting with inferior equipment, the risk of deterioration is immediate. Coordinating equipment provision across settings and ensuring continuity of protection is essential.
Designing for the real NHS
One of the reasons our technology has delivered such measurable results is that it has been engineered specifically for the realities of NHS wards. That means building covers robust enough to withstand thousands of cleaning cycles without breaking down, and designing solutions like our TREZZO mattress, which reduces the reliance on dynamic mattresses - helping Trusts save costs, retain quality care, and simplify workflows. For patients at very high risk, we also offer an enhanced range of dynamic mattresses suitable for all patient groups and care settings, supporting patient continuity from acute through to community care.
It also means meeting, and in many cases exceeding, NHS infection control and hygiene specifications through careful material selection and manufacturing processes. Just as importantly, our foam structures are designed to regulate body temperature and manage moisture, creating a stable microclimate that helps to reduce the risk of skin breakdown.
By addressing these operational challenges head-on, we’ve been able to provide solutions that remain clinically effective for years rather than months, protecting patients while delivering greater value for the NHS.
Aligning with the NHS 10-Year Plan
The NHS’ recently announced 10-Year Plan Fit for the Future sets ambitious goals for improving efficiency, patient safety and sustainability. Smarter, more resilient equipment is central to achieving those ambitions.
We see the next phase of innovation in pressure area care as connected, data-driven, and proactive. That’s why we’re developing a first-of-its-kind 4G cloud-based platform to monitor both medical equipment performance and patient risk factors in real time. By providing clinicians with live data on equipment condition, patient movement and interface pressures, we can support faster interventions, reduce downtime, and optimise the use of resources across whole Trusts.
This is not about replacing clinical judgement - it’s about giving frontline staff the tools and information they need to act sooner, with greater precision and fewer preventable failures.
Building a safer, more efficient NHS
As an industry, we have a responsibility to raise the bar and to challenge procurement models that reward short lifespans, to innovate beyond the bare minimum, and to design equipment that supports both clinical and operational excellence. The NHS cannot afford to treat pressure ulcers as an inevitable cost of care. They are largely preventable injuries, and every incident avoided represents not only a cost saving but a better patient outcome
Pressure ulcers will never be eliminated entirely, but they can be dramatically reduced with the right combination of clinical practice and technology. The evidence from NHS Trusts that have embraced clinically validated support surfaces is compelling - lower incidence rates, lower costs, reduced waste and improved staff efficiency.
This shows that by equipping staff with the right tools, designed for the real-world challenges of patient flow and long-term care in acute settings, we can make meaningful and measurable progress that supports long-term value over short-term saving. With smarter technology at the core, we can take real steps towards a safer, more efficient NHS that delivers better outcomes for patients and staff alike.