Judy Waterlow
Judith Amy Waterlow. English nurse and educator.
Judy Waterlow created the Waterlow Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment/Policy in 1985, and updated it in 2005. The Waterlow risk assessment is used by many NHS hospitals as well as all over the world.
Judy Waterlow received an MBE for her services to health. She managed to achieve this even though she had crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis from the age of 32 years.
Biography
- Born ?1933
- 1953 – Nursing training at St Thomas’s Hospital working in general nursing and as a theatre sister.
- 1963 – Gave up work to raise three daughters, all of whom are nurses.
- 1976 – Returned to nursing and trained as a clinical teacher
- 1977-1987 Registered Clinical Nurse Teacher (RCNT)
- 1985 – Designed the Waterlow pressure ulcer risk assessment tool
- 1988 – Retired from nursing due to ill health and the increasing severity of her rheumatoid arthritis,
- 1985-1998 Tissue Viability Society coordinator of the Society’s Regional Study Days
- 2008 – MBE: Judith Amy Waterlow Jones. For services to Healthcare and to the community in Taunton, Somerset.
- 2013 – Award for services to nursing from the British Journal of Nursing
- 2013 – The Waterlow Score App [iOS]
Medical Eponyms
Waterlow score (1985)
Judy Waterlow designed and researched her pressure ulcer risk assessment tool in 1985, while working as a Clinical Nurse Teacher. The tool was originally designed for use by her students. The Waterlow Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment/Policy was first published in 1985, and updated in 2005.
One side illustrates the risk assessment scoring system. The reverse side provides guidance on nursing care, types of preventative aids associated with the three levels of risk status, wound assessment and dressings. Intended for use by nurses, healthcare professionals and carers at the patient/client interface.
Major Publications
- Waterlow J. Pressure sores: a risk assessment card. Nurs Times. 1985;81(48):49-55.
- Waterlow J. A policy that protects. The Waterlow Pressure Sore Prevention/Treatment Policy. Prof Nurse. 1991;6(5):258-264.
- Waterlow JA. Reliability of the Waterlow score. J Wound Care. 1995;4(10):474-475.
- Waterlow JA. Pressure sore risk assessment in children. Paediatr Nurs. 1997;9(6):21-24.
- Waterlow JA. Practical use of the Waterlow tool in the community. British Journal of Community Nursing 2005; 2(2): 83-86
- Waterlow J. The history and use of the Waterlow card. Nurs Times. 1998;94(7):63-67
- Waterlow JA. Regional study days. Their role within the education strategy of the TVS. J Tissue Viability. 1998;8(2):9-11.
- Waterlow JA. Nursing is rapidly losing its way. Br J Nurs. 2003;12(12):716.
- Waterlow JA. From costly treatment to cost-effective prevention: using Waterlow. British Journal of Community Nursing 2005; 10(3): S25-29
- Waterlow JA. The Waterlow Pressure Ulcer Prevention Manual 2e. Taunton. 2005
- Waterlow JA. Waterlow assessment: not a predictor. Br J Nurs. 2005;14(13):689.
References
- Pressure Ulcer Risk Assessment and Prevention. Judy Waterlow website
- Society Business. Journal of Tissue Viability. 1998; 8(3): 38-39
- Judy Waterlow – pressure ulcer care reformer. Nursing Times. 2010
- Editorial. The fundamentals of nursing and pressure ulcer prevention. Wound Essentials 2016; 11(1): 6-7
- Name a new hospital Judy Waterlow. Change.org
- Bibliography. Waterlow, Judy A. WorldCat Identities
Graduated from Southampton Medical School in 2017 with BMBS. Working in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Emergency Department in Perth, Australia.
Studied at University of Birmingham MBChB, and King's College London BSc (Psychology). British doctor working in Emergency Medicine, Perth. Special interests include elderly care, neurology and emergency medicine.