European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel

As I come to the end of the first year of my term in office, it is time to reflect on EPUAP’s activities throughout the twelve months. My year certainly started with a bang, in other words, our Tenth Open Meeting (held in Oxford) which was a very successful conference. It comprised the usual mixture of lectures, free papers and seminars, with one notable addition - a lunchtime seminar showcasing the work of the Japanese Pressure Ulcers Society (JPUS). The JPUS have always been supporters of EPUAP and it was an excellent opportunity to hear more about their work.

EPUAP has always been an active society with a number of working groups undertaking a range of projects. This year all our activity has been focused on our guideline work. Our collaboration with the American National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) has gone from strength to strength. The EPUAP Guideline Development Group (GDG) has met with the NPUAP GDG on three occasions during the year as well as having regular electronic communication. In addition, the Trustees gave over the November Trustees meeting totally to guideline work. I am extremely grateful for all the hard work of the Trustees, especially the GDG. However, it would be wrong not to mention Dr Katrien Vanderwee who is our project worker. She has been immensely important in keeping everything in order and in making sure that we keep to the tasks in hand. I would like to congratulate her on the birth of her daughter Anna, but also say how relieved I was to have her back from maternity leave.

EPUAP was well represented at the World Union of Wound Healing Societies meeting in Toronto in June. I would like to make a special mention of Dr George Cherry who received a Life-Time Achievement Award in Toronto. George was a major force in establishing EPUAP and served as Secretary/Treasurer to the society. Other EPUAP members who all received this award were: Christine Lindholm, Terence Ryan and Willi Jung. The next WUWHS conference will be in Japan in 2012.

This AGM will see the retirement of four of our Trustees: Andrea Bellingeri,Michael Clark, Tom Defloor and Anne Witherow. I would like to thank all of them for their service and commitment to EPUAP, both for myself and also on behalf of the Trustees. However, I do not propose to say goodbye to any of them as I am sure they will all continue to be involved in EPUAP in one way or another. At the same time I would like to welcome the new Trustees: George Cherry, Amit Gefen, Erik de Laat, Christina Lindholm, Jane Nixon and Marco Romanelli. I would also like to acknowledge Manuel Gago Fomells, Lena Gunningberg, Christina Miguens, Anna Polak and Joseph Schols who will be serving a second term of office as Trustees.

Finally, I must thank Christine Cherry in the Business Office for keeping the show on the road, with the assistance of Margaret Hughes. Theirs can be a thankless task and the volume of work they undertake is not often recognised or acknowledged.

As we go forward into 2009 I trust that it will be another successful year for EPUAP.

Carol Dealey

President