Wound Care Resources

Maureen Benbow, Pauline Beldon, Martyn Butcher, Heather Newton, Sylvie Hampton & Helena Baxter discuss a project which was set up to investigate the extent of use of topical negative pressure therapy in primary care settings in the UK in 2004. The objective of this part of the project was to systematically review the available literature up to December 2004.
The systematic review was conducted by a group of tissue viability experts. The key areas explored in the review included clinical, operational, communication, support and safety/liability/governance issues. The review of the literature found that the articles were noticeably lacking in information regarding the five key areas investigated. This would make it difficult for clinicians to initiate effective service provision based on what was found in the literature.
Maureen Benbow, Senior Lecturer, University of Chester.
Pauline Beldon, Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant, Epsom & St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Martyn Butcher, Skin and Wound Care Service Manager/TVNS, Derriford Hospital Plymouth, Devon
Heather Newton, Nurse Consultant, Tissue Viability, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Truro, Cornwall.
Sylvie Hampton, Nurse Consultant Tissue Viability, Tissue Viability Consultancy Services
Helena Baxter, Service Development Manager, Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Cambridgeshire.
Article accepted for publication: February 2007

Maureen Benbow describes the stages of wound healing and the need for nurses to undertake accurate wound assessment
Maureen Benbow MSc, BA, RGN, HERC is a Senior Lecturer, University of Chester
Article accepted for publication: June 2007

Sylvie Hampton, Dr Steve Young and Andy Kerr discuss the treatment of sinus wounds
Sylvie Hampton MA, BSc (Hons), DpSN, RGN is a Tissue Viability Consultant
Dr Steve Young BSc, PhD
Andy Kerr RGN, DipN is a Tissue Viability Consultant, Eastbourne Wound Healing Centre
Article accepted for publication: March 2008

Now more than ever, the NHS is searching for ways to reduce wastage and achieve efficiency savings, while at the same time improving patient outcomes. One area which can sometimes be overlooked when it comes to innovation and new ways of working is wound care.

Chronic wounds create poor health (e.g. infection and immobility) and personal issues for patients (e.g. malodour, pain and sleepless nights), as well as substantial costs to healthcare systems (Guest et al, 2017; Atkin et al, 2019). They present many clinical challenges, but two key areas are wound bed preparation and exudate management (Atkin et al, 2019), which are intrinsically linked. A chronic or cavity wound bed which has not been prepared for healing through cleansing and debridement (Mahoney, 2020), containing slough, necrotic tissue or wound biofilm, usually produces a high volume of exudate (World Union of Wound Healing Societies [WUWHS], 2019).

To effectively deal with complex wounds, the importance of oedema and that all oedemas are on a lymphoedema continuum needs to be understood. The efficiency of lymphatic drainage is paramount to oedema management and wound healing. Therefore, interventions to help prevent damage to lymphatic capillaries, and techniques to facilitate lymphatic drainage and lymphangiogenesis should be considered as part of wound management. This article highlights the importance of the lymphatic system in the treatment of leg ulceration and the emergence of a new ‘hybrid nurse’, who combines the specialisms of tissue viability and lymphoedema to improve patient outcomes, reduce waiting times, and improve efficiency within the NHS with the provision of a one-stop service.