23 March 2023

• 3.8 million patients had a wound managed by the NHS in 2017/18.
• The cost to the NHS associated with wound management was £8.3 billion, with two thirds of this spend incurred in the community setting. 1
• In December 2021, the five Tissue Viability (TV) teams from within the Lancashire & South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) were approached to undertake a pilot project with NHS Supply Chain, in partnership with procurement colleagues.

28 February 2023

When patients present with red lower legs, the cause is often assumed to be cellulitis or erysipelas. There are, however, several alternative conditions which mimic the clinical signs of cellulitis or erysipelas, which can lead to misdiagnosis. It is important that the cause is correctly diagnosed to prevent inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics.

23 March 2023

The National Wound Care strategy has recommended the use of digital technology to support clinicians working directly with patients and their wounds. As a trust we were eager to implement these recommendations alongside implementing the best practice pathways and began with exploring the use of an application on a mobile phone that the community  nursing teams could use to assess monitor and track wounds trajectory.

23 March 2023

Negative pressure wound therapy has seen many new advances within the last few years. One of these being the use of single use NPWT units using disposable AA batteries. The impact of the disposable units upon our carbon footprint is affected by plastic waste and single use batteries, used by many of these units. Typically, the units are disposed of after 7/14/30 days use, through the clinical waste route, with components e.g. dressings being disposed of more frequently. Extended sustainability commitments laid out in the NHS Long Term Plan, range from reducing plastics and water consumption, through to improving air quality and a net zero carbon commitment. Medical waste disposal is costly and impacts upon the annual budgets of health care providers and has an environmental impact, any initiative to reduce waste within the NHS is aligned with the NHS plan. Disposing of batteries poses a particular challenge as these cannot be burned and should be disposed of by specialist companies. 
Most single use disposable NPWT units contain large amounts of plastic, which take centuries to break down. AA batteries are often found in land fill, and this leads to leaching of multiple chemicals into the ground causing catastrophic damage to the environment. 

21 February 2020

Do you use different approaches for patients with lymphoedema and chronic oedema? If so, it may be time to rethink says Rebecca Elwell.

24 February 2020

Rachel Reece describes the development of educational resources to support 140 link workers in the efficient delivery of wound care across a large 1200 bed acute trust.

21 March 2023

Pressure ulcers are defined as injuries to the skin and underlying tissue secondary to the deprivation of blood supply to the cells as a result of uninterrupted pressure. They are categorised according to their depth, using a validation tool namely the guidelines from the
National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP 2014). The severity of a pressure ulcer is categorised from 1-4, the latter being the most severe. There are two additional classes namely: unstageable that depicts the ulcer bed is obscured by devitalised tissue, and deep
tissue injury that relates to pressure damage under intact skin, which simulates the appearance of 'bruising'.

21 January 2021

The delivery of wound care in the current climate is challenging so effective solutions are more important than ever. It is vital to be aware of the latest products and innovations that have the potential to improve outcomes.

Here, we present Exufiber^® and Exufiber^® Ag⁺, next generation gelling fibre dressings that use Hydrolock^® Technology to optimise wound conditions so that healing can occur.

24 October 2021

With face-to-face interaction at a stand still since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a gap in our learning where practical, interactive workshops had a huge impact. Fortunately, this October I had the opportunity to attend Wound Care Today 2021 and see the world of in-person networking reopen again.

05 March 2025

Hard-to-heal wounds present a significant challenge in healthcare, requiring a comprehensive understanding of the wound healing process and effective management strategies. A survey was conducted by the Journal of Community Nursing among its registered online members to explore the current opinions and challenges faced by healthcare professionals (HCPs) who are involved in delivering wound care, including opinions on advanced wound therapies. The survey, which consisted of 14 questions, highlighted some interesting findings including several challenges experienced when treating patients with wounds. Results revealed that 69% (n=311) of participants indicated a lack of time and resources as the primary barrier. Patient compliance (67%, n=303), limited access to advanced therapies (47% n=211), insufficient training (37%), and cost pressures (32% n=145) were also significant concerns. Despite these challenges, most respondents (63%, n=281) felt ‘somewhat satisfied’ with their ability to manage wounds, but found the process frustrating due to the difficulties that they encountered.