Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Management
Pressure ulcer prevention and management training delivered at your workplace or remotely. Half a day or a full day. Early recognition, consistent preventative care, and the confidence to escalate before a small change becomes a serious wound.
Course Overview
During a morning routine in a care home, a care worker helping someone get washed and dressed notices a small area of redness on their heel. It doesn’t fade when the pressure is taken off. It’s easy to put that down to how someone’s been lying in bed and carry on with a busy morning. Here’s how that plays out in practice: the redness is there again the next day, and the day after that. Nobody records it, nobody repositions any differently, and nobody mentions it at handover. By the time it’s raised, what could have been managed with a simple change in positioning has become a wound that needs dressing, monitoring, and a referral to the district nursing team.
Pressure ulcers are not just a clinical issue. They are a quality of care indicator, and in many cases a sign that something in the care process has been missed, delayed or not fully understood. This course gives care staff a clear, practical understanding of how pressure damage develops, how it can be prevented, and what to do when concerns arise, with a focus on early recognition, consistent preventative care and confident escalation, helping staff understand not just what to do, but why it matters.
This training aligns with NICE guideline CG179 (Pressure ulcers: prevention and management), NICE Quality Standard QS89 (Pressure ulcers), and CQC Regulation 12: Safe Care and Treatment.
Course Details
- Duration: Half day or full day, depending on the depth required
- Delivery: Face-to-face, in-house or remote via Zoom or Microsoft Teams
- Certificate: CPD-Accredited Certificate of Achievement in Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Management
- Awarding organisations: CPD-Accredited
- Validity: No fixed legal renewal period. Annual refresher recommended.
- Group size: Maximum 12 learners per trainer
Who This Course Is For
This course is right for care and support staff who support individuals at risk of pressure damage, in any care setting.
- Care assistants and support workers
- Senior carers and team leaders
- Domiciliary care staff
- Residential and nursing home staff
- Healthcare assistants
- Staff supporting individuals with reduced mobility or complex needs
It’s particularly relevant for teams who are responsible for skin integrity monitoring, contribute to care planning and documentation, need to improve early identification and escalation, or are preparing for inspection or responding to a recent incident. Because repositioning is one of the most effective prevention strategies, this course works well alongside our Moving and Positioning People course for teams who need both.
Why This Training Matters
Pressure ulcers are largely preventable when the right knowledge and care practices are in place. However, in busy care settings, early signs can be missed or misunderstood, leading to deterioration that could have been avoided.
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, registered providers must ensure care is delivered safely and that risks to individuals are assessed, monitored, and mitigated. CQC Regulation 12: Safe Care and Treatment, which sits within that framework, expects providers to demonstrate effective risk assessment and prevention strategies, accurate and timely documentation, appropriate escalation and clinical involvement, and staff competence in recognising and responding to risk.
NICE guideline CG179 highlights the importance of regular skin assessment, repositioning, nutrition and hydration, and the use of appropriate equipment. This course supports staff to understand how these elements come together in practice, helping to reduce risk and improve outcomes for the people they support.
What the Day Covers
All content reflects NICE guideline CG179 and current CQC guidance throughout. Topics covered include:
- Understanding pressure ulcers and skin integrity
- Causes and risk factors
- Pressure ulcer grading and staging
- Risk assessment tools and approaches
- Skin inspection and monitoring, including recognising pressure damage on darker skin tones
- Repositioning techniques and frequency
- Equipment and pressure relief
- Nutrition and hydration
- Infection prevention considerations
- Documentation and record keeping
- Escalation and multidisciplinary working
- Learning from incidents
Every course is also built around your risk assessment tools, care plans, and documentation as standard.
How the Course Is Delivered
This course is delivered face-to-face at your workplace or chosen venue, or remotely via Zoom or Microsoft Teams, depending on your needs. Sessions include real-life scenarios from care settings, practical discussion around prevention strategies, case-based learning, and opportunities to explore real challenges within your service.
Groups are capped at 12. Where appropriate, we incorporate your risk assessment tools, your care plans and documentation, your policies and procedures, and any incident reports or audit findings, so training is relevant, practical and immediately applicable.
Certification and Validity
On completion, learners receive a CPD-Accredited Certificate of Achievement in Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Management.
There is no fixed legal renewal period, but refresher training is recommended annually to support consistent care practice, updated knowledge, and ongoing staff confidence. Repositioning is one of the most effective prevention strategies covered in this course, and our Moving and Positioning People course builds the practical skills behind it in depth.
Why Organisations Book With Prima Cura
Most training providers arrive with a course. We arrive with yours.
Before the day, we gather information about your workplace: your incident reporting forms, your internal procedures, and the specific hazards your team actually faces. On the day, your trainer works that into every scenario, every discussion, every practical exercise. If your staff work in a care home, they’re not practising on hypothetical office workers. If your team are lone workers, that context shapes how the session runs.
It means the training lands. Not because it was well-delivered in a generic sense, but because it was relevant to the people in the room and the situations they’ll actually encounter.
A few other things that matter to the organisations that book with us:
- 98.9% learner satisfaction across all Prima Cura courses
- All trainers hold Enhanced DBS certificates and maintain ongoing CPD
- We advise honestly on the qualification level at the enquiry stage. If a different course is a better fit for your workforce, we’ll say so before you book, not after
We respond to all enquiries within one working day.
Where We Deliver
We deliver in-house training at your workplace or chosen venue across Manchester, Greater Manchester, and the wider North West. We also deliver nationally across England, including North England, South England, London, and Surrey.
All sessions are led by experienced Prima Cura Training instructors. Groups are capped at 12 per trainer to protect the quality of hands-on learning.
Our associate network means we can deliver across England. You can meet the team on our Associates page.
FAQs
What is a pressure ulcer?
A pressure ulcer, sometimes called a bedsore or pressure sore, is damage to the skin and the tissue underneath, caused by sustained pressure, shear, or friction. It develops most often in people with reduced mobility, where pressure on one area for too long reduces blood flow to the skin. Pressure ulcers are categorised from early skin changes through to more severe tissue damage, which is why early recognition matters so much.
Are pressure ulcers preventable?
In most cases, yes. NICE guidance is clear that most pressure ulcers can be prevented through regular repositioning, effective risk assessment, monitoring of skin condition, good nutrition and hydration, and the use of appropriate pressure-relieving equipment. Prevention depends on staff knowing what to look for and acting on it early, rather than waiting until damage becomes visible.
What are the early signs staff should look for?
Early signs include redness or discolouration that doesn’t fade when pressure is removed, changes in skin temperature, swelling, hardness, or the person telling you an area feels uncomfortable or painful. On darker skin tones, redness can be much harder to see, so staff need to rely more on touch, changes in temperature or texture such as warmth, hardening, or boggy skin, and on what the person themselves is telling you. Recognising these early indicators, on any skin tone, allows for a change in care before visible damage develops.
Is this course suitable for non-clinical staff?
Yes. This course is designed for care and support staff, not clinicians. It focuses on prevention, observation, and escalation rather than clinical treatment. Staff learn how to recognise risk, carry out preventative care such as repositioning, and report concerns promptly and clearly, working alongside district nurses, GPs, or other clinical professionals where treatment is needed.
Related Courses
- Nutrition and Hydration in Care Settings
- Infection Prevention and Control
- Moving and Positioning People
- Adult Safeguarding Level 1 and 2
- Continence Awareness and Promotion
Book or Enquire
Book your training or request a quote
Tell us your team size and your sector. We’ll come back with a quote, the right advice on qualification level, and a straight answer on whether this is the best course for your team.
We respond to all enquiries within one working day.
Our Commitment to Quality and Compliance
At Prima Cura Training, all courses reflect current UK guidance and best practice. All trainers are experienced professionals with relevant qualifications and ongoing CPD. Because many of the organisations we support work with vulnerable individuals, all trainers hold Enhanced DBS checks.
This course is reviewed against updates from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Care Quality Commission, and current UK legislation, including the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Course content aligns with NICE guideline CG179, NICE Quality Standard QS89, and CQC Regulation 12.
You can read more on our Quality Assurance and Compliance page.
Reviewed by Stephanie Austin, Owner and Lead Trainer, Prima Cura Training | 25+ years in health and social care | 15+ years as a trainer | Last reviewed: June 2026 | Next review: June 2027
This course provides guidance on pressure ulcer prevention and management. It does not replace clinical judgement, organisational policies, or professional medical advice. Providers remain responsible for ensuring care delivery meets current UK legislation and best practice guidance, including NICE guideline CG179 and CQC Regulation 12 (Safe Care and Treatment).
