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Waterlow chart

The pressure ulcer risk chart on the RCSI reading list, in RCSI’s own layout: two score pages, a line for the MUST score where the original Waterlow has its nutrition block, and six questions printed underneath. You get a patient card, tick the rows the way you would on paper, write the total and pick the band: 10 to 14 at risk, 15 to 19 high, 20 and above very high. Every section is checked with the reason, because the marks are lost on the judgement calls: restricted or inert, dry or tissue paper, which drugs count.

Sources: RCSI, Waterlow Pressure Sore Assessment Chart (reading list download, checked against the live page 17.09.2026); thecalculator.co Waterlow Score Calculator (reading list) for the bands; HSE Clinical Resource Pack: Pressure Ulcers (June 2025) for when to assess, aSSKINg and the HSE 2024 staging tool; HSE QPSIM 004 Pressure Ulcers, A Practical Guide for Review (Oct 2022) for incident reporting; NPIAP staging 2016. The MUST score is taken from the MUST screen.