Wound Care Resources

02 February 2024
Normal wound healing follows four distinct phases: haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and finally, maturation. If any barriers to healing occur within these four phases, the healing process will be delayed or may even stall (Mitchell, 2021). One of the common barriers to healing is hyper or overgranulation, or ‘proud flesh’. Hypergranulated wounds can cause concern to both patients and healthcare professionals, and, although common in wound care, there is a limited evidence base and currently no guidelines for management. This article discusses the causes of hypergranulation, with suggestions on how it can be managed.
Topics:  Management
12 October 2023
The suffering caused by lower limb and leg ulcer-related conditions often languishes
in the periphery of healthcare. However, the prevalence, distress and economic implications of these conditions are far more substantial than commonly acknowledged.
Topics:  Wound Care
01 June 2023
Delivery of health care is undergoing unprecedented changes. There are increasing requirements for care which are not matched by a comparable increase in resources. Services are frequently under pressure and at times overwhelmed; wound care is no exception. 
Topics:  Self-care
21 April 2023
Wound management places a major demand on healthcare resources, which will continue to escalate with the increasing age and associated diseases of patients. But, that is no reason for inconsistent treatment, or treatment where the concerns and priorities of patients are not being addressed.

Of course, prevention and education need to be a priority, along with evidence-based wound treatments and research into developing existing pathways. However, patients also have rights and expectations that need to be considered. In our view, it is here where we have fallen down and where we continue to do so.
Topics:  Wound Care
15 December 2022
There is an abundance of literature on the management of venous ulceration, however, increasing numbers of patients are presenting with ulcers of mixed aetiology — arterial and venous. Compression therapy is the gold standard treatment for venous ulcers, however, high levels of compression are contraindicated in the presence of severe arterial disease. Nevertheless, the venous element of a mixed aetiology ulcer needs to be addressed, which
can pose a dilemma for healthcare professionals caring for these patients. This article discusses the different aetiologies and current literature on how these ulcers can be managed effectively to achieve healing.
Topics:  Venous leg ulcer
15 December 2022
Debridement is the removal of non-viable tissue from the wound bed and surrounding skin and is an important part of wound healing and wound bed preparation. Devitalised tissue, such as necrosis, slough and hyperkeratosis, interfere with the process of wound
healing. When a wound fails to progress, there is a need to assess the wound bed and surrounding tissue and promote an optimum environment that encourages the formation of healthy granulation tissue (Young, 2014). Recent advances in debridement techniques
using monofilament fibre technology can be practised by nonspecialist nurses and used safely and effectively in a patient’s home. In a recent audit, a dataset of 486 patients who had been newly prescribed a monofilament fibre debridement pad was obtained to
validate clinical effectiveness and cost efficiency. The total cost of wound care prescribing fell by 14% or £101,723 in the six months after the intervention compared with the six months before. The average monthly expenditure per patient fell from £244 before the intervention to £209 after (Burnett et al, 2021). This evidence reinforces the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations for use of monofilament fibre debridement in the community, based on evidence of its effectiveness and estimated cost savings (NICE, 2019).
11 October 2022
This article looks at the cost and incidence of wound dehiscence, together with an overview of the most common operation sites where dehiscence is likely to occur. Patient factors predisposing to wound dehiscence are discussed, together with the most common cause, surgical site infection (SSI). The identification and management of SSI is explored, together with recommendations for wound management for both infected and non-infected dehisced wounds.
02 August 2022
Seven percent of the population in Britain — around 3.8 million people — currently rely on wound care services (Guest et al, 2020); a staggering, and surprising number. Wound care is often an unrecognised service, hidden away as part of the treatment for other conditions, such as diabetes. This lack of awareness led to a situation where variation in standards meant that patients were having mixed experiences of care across the country (Patients Association, 2021).
Topics:  Pandemic
01 February 2022
This article outlines the development of a community tissue viability service over the same five-year-period in which a number of national issues with wound care were identified through research. These included a lack of evidence-based practice, a changing community workforce and an unwarranted variation in care attributed to a lack of education and training among generalist practitioners. The author describes how a proactive approach was taken to local service development to address these issues, and how partnership working with both colleagues and industry enabled improved wound care education delivery and uptake among a generalist community workforce. These measures resulted in a reduced spend on wound care dressings year on year, despite a predicted trend for increasing costs nationally.
Topics:  Partnership