WCT 2026 - Full registration open

 

Conference programme

As usual, our 30+ presenters on the main stage will provide real-life insight into the challenges faced working in wound care today, as well as share their experiences and successes so that you can learn from them and apply your new knowledge to your practice.  

With the publication of Fit for the Future: the 10-year plan for England in July 2025, this year’s conference questions what this means for wound care service provision over the next decade, with focus on the three core domains of hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention. Come along and hear from a wide range of colleagues who are already achieving great things in these areas; learn from their experiences and get ahead of the curve in your practice!

Advisory Board

Meet our new WCT Advisory Board shaping the programme for 2026

Wound Care Today 2026 Conference Programme

08.30–10.00

Registration and exhibition

10.00–10.15

Opening remarks

by Helen Shoker, clinical director, Wound Care Today

and introduction of conference chair

Paul Vaughan, national deputy director, community and primary care nursing, NHS England

10.15–11.00

Motivational session: Difficult conversations

Richard Shorter, creator of ‘Non-Perfect Dad’, head of Awkward Conversations and author of ‘Conversations for the Journey’

11.00–11.35

How to build general practice, community and hospital wound care provision against a backdrop of the 10-year plan

Jane Parker, tissue viability nurse; Rachel Sweeney, lead tissue viability specialist nurse, skin integrity, both at Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust; Jack Short, faculty member, National Association of Primary Care

11.35–11.55

Epidermolysis bullosa: a parent and specialist nurse perspective

Katie White, tissue viability nurse, Stoke

11.55–12.00

Questions from the audience

12.00–14.00

Lunch/exhibition/skills zones

14.00–14.10

Welcome, introduction to afternoon sessions

Paul Vaughan, national deputy director, community nursing and primary care nursing, NHS England

14.10–14.46

First-time speaker sessions

Three speakers who have never spoken at a national conference showcase their work

14.46–15.00

Questions from the audience

15.00–16.00

Break/exhibition/skills zones

16.10–16.40

Lessons learned when introducing innovation into a community-based wound care service

Agnes Collarte, tissue viability specialist nurse lead, Inner Northwest Division (Central London, Hammersmith and Fulham and West London)

16.40–17.20

Women’s experiences of having a caesarean wound

Holly Edmundson, research midwife, pre-doctoral clinical and practitioner academic fellow, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation trust; Lucy Goddard, postdoctoral researcher in maternity and women’s health, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Applied Research Collaboration, Oxford and Thames Valley; Ines Sadoc Pereira, nurse consultant tissue viability, NHS Grampian

17.20–17.40

National strategy for wound care: what’s next?

Sarah Robinson, director of health partnerships and insights, Health Innovation East; implementation lead, NIHR ARC East of England

17.40–17.50

Summary/evaluation of today’s conference

 

08.00–09.00

Exhibition opens

09.00–09.10

Welcome and open of day two

Paul Vaughan, national deputy director, community and primary care nursing, NHS England

09.10–09.30

Free paper sessions

Speakers share their work

09.30–10.00

Role of AI technology in improving patient outcomes in a wound care service

Hollie Robinson, tissue viability service lead, South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

10.00–11.00

Break/exhibition/skills zones

11.10–11.50

Chronic limb-threatening ischaemia and clinical frailty

Beth Lillico, high risk and vascular specialist podiatrist, Manchester Local Care Organisation

11.50–12.30

Podiatry initiative to improve vascular assessment among the community workforce

Matthew Allen, consultant lead podiatrist, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust; Rasha Okasheh, academic lead, Salford standardization of vascular assessments project

12.30–12.40

Questions from the audience

12.40–14.10

Lunch/exhibition/skills zones

14.20–14.50

Healing non-healing, lower limb wounds through collaborative working with GPs, community healthcare trusts, tissue viability and district nursing

Bernadette McGlynn, clinical lead for tissue viability, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust

14.50–15.20

A leg ulcer population calculator and its role in commissioning and service delivery

Siobhan Mccoulough, nurse director ‑ tissue viability nurse consultant, Pioneer Wound Healing and Lymphoedema Centres

 

15.20–15.35

Questions from the audience — lower limb panel discussion

15.35–16.05

Finding a way through: non-traditional wound care provision in vulnerable populations

Jon Findlay, national harm reduction lead, Waythrough

16.05–16.20

Questions from the audience

16.20–16.35

Summary/evaluation and close of conference

 
It's not just the main programme too, visit our exhibition and industry sponsored skill zones to find out how innovation in products and services can improve your practice and service delivery.
 
Stay connected with us:
WCT on Facebook WCT on LinkedIn


Meet our new WCT Advisory Board shaping the programme for 2026


Andrew Sharpe

Andrew Sharpe

Cerys Stowe

Cerys Stowe

Ines Sadoc Pereira

Ines Sadoc Pereira

Agnes Collarte

Agnes Collarte

Jane Parker

Jane Parker

Lauren Thorpe

Lauren Thorpe

Andrew Sharpe

Andrew Sharpe 

Advanced Podiatrist, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust


Andrew works as a podiatrist in wound care for Salford Care Organisation, part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, in the North West of England. He has worked as a podiatrist for over 20 years and his work involves foot ulcer management and prevention in both clinical practice and research. Andrew is also involved in writing clinical practice guidelines, writing articles for peer-reviewed journals, presenting at national and international conferences. He has worked as a university lecturer, he presents and attends international expert panel seminars, and works as a key opinion leader. He is also a panel member of the Foot in Diabetes UK and the Royal College of Podiatry
Cerys Stowe

Cerys Stowe

Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant, Pioneer Wound Healing and Lymphoedema Centres


Cerys Stowe is an experienced tissue viability nurse consultant working at Pioneer Wound Healing and Lymphoedema Centres. She has worked within the field of wound care for over 12 years, beginning her career in district nursing, where her passion for wound management first developed. During this time, she gained extensive experience supporting patients with both acute and chronic wounds.

Cerys later moved into practice nursing, where she ran wound care clinics and assisted in monthly vascular outpatient clinics. Her growing expertise and interest in complex wound management led her to a specialist role in tissue viability at Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. During her time there, she helped to create the Complex Wound Virtual Ward, an innovative service designed to support patients’ transition home sooner and prevent hospital admissions through timely access to specialist advice. Transitioning from community and primary care to the acute setting also enabled her to deepen her clinical knowledge and broaden her exposure to a range of complex wound presentations.

Throughout her career, Cerys has attended numerous conferences, study days, and specialist courses in tissue viability. Her leadership journey has included completing the Mary Seacole Leadership Programme through the Florence Nightingale Foundation, where she is now recognised as an FNF Scholar.

Currently undertaking her MSc in Tissue Viability at Birmingham City University, Cerys is passionate about advancing evidence-based practice and driving service improvement in wound care. Her focus remains on delivering holistic, patient-centred care and promoting collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches to optimise outcomes for individuals living with wounds and lymphoedema.
Ines Sadoc Pereira

Ines Sadoc Pereira

Independent Nurse Consultant in Tissue Viability


Ines Sadoc Pereira has been a nurse for over 17 years, specialising in critical care and, since 2018, in tissue viability. She started her career in Portugal and has worked in England, UAE and is currently based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Her two passions are working to improve patient outcomes and promoting staff development in critical care and wound care, and educating/mentoring pre- and post-registration nursing students, to empower them to provide the best possible care for patients.

To educate others, she continuously develops herself and has achieved her Master’s in Science — Skin Integrity and Wound Management at Hertfordshire University in 2024. 

More recently, she has achieved certification as a scar therapy practitioner and completed a course in ‘an integrated approach to lymphoedema & chronic wounds’.

Ines aspires to continue further studies in oncology scar and lymphoedema management in the coming year; to inspire others to pursue their dreams; and engage with likeminded peers and patients to create a more sustainable future for wound and scar care.
Agnes Collarte

Agnes Collarte

Tissue Viability Specialist Nurse Lead, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH)


Agnes Collarte is the tissue viability specialist nurse lead at Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH), that oversees wound care services across the tri-borough area of Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham, and Kensington & Chelsea. She manages a dedicated team of tissue viability nurses who provide expert care for patients with complex wounds, including pressure ulcers, leg ulcers, and postoperative wounds, through clinics, home visits, and collaborative work with district and practice nurses.

Born in the Philippines, she began her nursing career after completing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1997. She worked as a nurse supervisor before moving to the UK in 2002 to expand her professional experience. Since joining CLCH, she has progressed through roles from rehabilitation nurse to tissue viability nurse, and ultimately to lead nurse.

She holds a master’s degree in Advancing Practice, achieved while balancing full-time work and family life. Her clinical expertise is complemented by a strong commitment to research and innovation. She co-authored research on mechanical debridement techniques published in the Journal of Community Nursing and International Wound Journal for the impact of a new intervention for venous leg ulcers: a within-patient controlled trial.

Passionate about improving patient outcomes, she emphasises evidence-based practice and education. She leads initiatives to prevent and treat chronic wounds, supports multidisciplinary teams, and mentors colleagues. Her work reflects a deep dedication to easing patient suffering, promoting healing, and advancing community healthcare standards.
Jane Parker

Jane Parker

PCN Tissue Viability Specialist Nurse Lead, West Norfolk Primary Care


Jane Parker is a clinical nurse specialist in tissue viability with 25 years of experience across the NHS, private healthcare, and medtech sectors. She currently works in West Norfolk within the Primary Care Networks, providing expert leadership in wound and leg ulcer management, education, and service development.

Jane has held senior clinical roles at Cambridge University Hospitals and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn (QEHKL), where she led multidisciplinary teams, implemented evidence-based protocols and advanced patient care standards in complex wound management. Her experience in industry further strengthened her expertise in clinical education, stakeholder engagement, and product evaluation.

In addition to her clinical work, Jane acts as an expert witness in tissue viability and offers independent consultancy on formulary development and staff training. She has presented at national events and has contributed to NHS England wound care initiatives. She holds postgraduate qualifications in wound care, leadership in healthcare and medical and healthcare education.
Lauren Thorpe

Lauren Thorpe

Clinical Nurse Specialist for Wound Care, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust (community group) 


Lauren is a wound care clinical nurse specialist in Coventry University hospitals (Community Group), She has worked within the field of wound care for 10 years and has a passion for wound care within a community setting. In 2015, when first working in wound care, Lauren was awarded a scholarship award by Mölnlycke Health Care, which supported her in achieving her BSc in wound care. Since qualifying as a nurse, she has worked within the community services in community roles providing clinical leadership, giving an opportunity to instil passion into a large wound healing team. She has supported a redesigned workforce to transform the service into the current wound healing service, ensuring the workforce delivers the right level of care regardless of setting. In 2024, Lauren was awarded the title of Queen’s Nurse with the Queen’s Nursing Institute.
WCT 2026 - options