THE excitement of the 9th Open Meeting of the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel is now fading and the EPUAP begins to look forward to its 10th Open Meeting to be held next year in Oxford, UK, from 30 August to 1 September 2007. Berlin was a great success – as all delegates agreed – and the format of the meeting, with plenary sessions on the first day then focused scientific and practical sessions over the remaining day-and-a-half, worked well and is likely to be used as the foundation for the programme of the Oxford meeting next year.

What were the highlights of the Berlin meeting? For me the shear force session on the second day was a major landmark where three organizations had come together to tackle a single important issue in pressure ulcer aetiology.

The EPUAP, the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel from the United States and the Japanese Pressure Ulcer Society will continue to work together to elucidate the definition, description and measurement of shear, and a significant plenary session is scheduled for the Oxford meeting to share new science and clinical research related to shear and its influence on pressure ulcers. Socially the formal dinner held in the hotel adjacent to the Berlin Conference Centre was really enjoyable. It was amazing to see so many dancers within the confines of the narrow dance floor, which was really just the aisle between dinner tables! Next year in Oxford the social event will be afloat cruising down the local waterways around Oxford and no doubt we will find space to dance even within the confines of the river boats! The work of the EPUAP working groups deserves mention. This year the EPUAP groups have produced two publications based upon the lived experience of having a pressure ulcer and the pilot prevalence study we performed across five European countries. A further manuscript is in development looking at barriers to implementation of the EPUAP nutrition guideline. This productivity of the working groups helps contribute to the wider pressure ulcer field and demonstrates that the EPUAP is academically active. At this time there are working groups on pressure ulcer classification, nutrition, repositioning, and the lived experience of coping with pressure ulcers. There is also a group dedicated to the management of the process of developing new guidelines on pressure ulcer prevention and treatment. Future issues of the EPUAP Review will focus in depth on the activities of these groups so providing members with information regarding where they could contribute to the development of our Society.

Dr Michael Clark
Editor