Welcome to the first issue of Wounds UK in 2019, I hope you all had a good start to the new year. This first editorial is a joint one with Dr Jo Blackburn who I work with at the University of Huddersfield. Jo and I focus our research around skin integrity and prevention of infection. As we reflected on all the exciting initiatives that took place last year, it became quite obvious that we are, at long last, moving away from managing to preventing wounds and leg ulceration. We witnessed the launch of Legs Matter, the National Wound Care Strategy and wound care was mentioned in the NHS 10-Year Plan, raising the profile and importance of this fundamental area of care: 
We will build on existing work on preventing patient deterioration including Sepsis and NEWS2 implementation. We will continue our maternal and neonatal safety improvement programme, our work on infection prevention and control and the ‘Stop the Pressure’ programme to prevent pressure ulcers, aligned with the new National Wound Care Strategy (NHS, 2019: 107).