Resources

In the last 80 years, the number of people in the UK with diabetes has risen from 200,000 to over four million (Nazarko, 2023). People with diabetes have at least double the risk of heart failure than the general population (Kenny and Abel, 2019), with American research indicating that 22% of people who have diabetes have heart failure (Pop-Busui et al, 2022). Most cases of heart failure are diagnosed in hospital, although 40% of people with heart failure have symptoms that the British Heart Foundation (BHF, 2025) comment ‘should have triggered an earlier assessment’. This article examines the link between diabetes and heart failure to update nurses working in primary care on who is at risk, when to suspect heart failure, as well as how it is diagnosed and treated.

Here, Allison Whitehorn tells her story of having cauda equina syndrome (CES) and the challenges and impact that the condition has had on her life. As a result, together with her husband, she has founded Cauda Equina Spinal Cord Injury (CESCI), a not for profit organisation to help provide education and support to others coming to terms with this devastating condition.

Welcome to our June/July issue, although as I am writing I am wondering just how we have arrived at June already! As always, there are lots of informative and interesting features, all of which we hope will support your learning and practice, leading to enhanced patient care. The ‘Community matters’ piece focuses on the delays our patients are encountering for dermatological services. Please take some time to read this article, which will give you an oversight into why the delays exist and the potential physical and mental effects these are causing. With the summer months upon us, it is particularly relevant that skin cancer is a focus — information is given around the rising rates and possible reasons for this. The feature discusses a variety of skin conditions and offers strategies and advice to support your patients — an interesting and informative read.

Somebody once said that good things come to those who wait, a neat little piece of advice but one that seems over-ambitious given the parlous state of our health services, as anyone who has recently tried to book a GP appointment or find an NHS dentist willing to see them in the next decade will tell you.

But, it’s not just GPs and dentists who are in short supply. A recent BBC report highlighted how pressure on dermatology services is causing long delays for people with inflammatory skin conditions such as severe eczema, psoriasis and acne, with waiting times for NHS dermatology clinics in England even longer than before the Covid-19 pandemic (‘Living hell for “forgotten” skin patients’ — www.bbc.co.uk).

But what is driving these delays and how might it affect your patients?

The QICN has raised serious concerns about the recent government announcement about the apprenticeship scheme. At the heart of the issue is the proposed discontinuation of level 7 apprenticeships, which currently fund specialist postgraduate training for nurses, including district nursing, adult social care nursing, inclusion health nursing, community children’s nursing, and general practice nursing. These programmes are considered essential for delivering complex care in community settings.

Leg ulcers are a common, painful debilitating condition, characterised by long periods of ulceration and a high incidence of recurrence. Despite this, little attention tends to be given to prevention and education regarding the wide-ranging effects that leg ulceration has on a person’s quality of life.

In the past decade, radical changes have occurred within the provider healthcare setting. GPs are looking into the cost-effectiveness of treatments for their patients and the provision of services available for purchase from an NHS provider organisation. The restructuring of clinical services and a new pattern of provision organised around the concept of lower limb care could result in service provision being further fragmented within the category of long-term conditions that require specialist management by an appropriately trained clinician.

Summer has arrived and many of us are daring to get our legs out! That prospect isn’t an option for some people, however.

Across the UK, millions live with lower limb wounds and swelling that is preventable, and treatable — yet too often are given suboptimal care. These conditions can have a huge impact on a patient’s quality of life (Franks et al, 2006; GonzálezConsuegra and Verdu, 2011) and a significant burden on the NHS (Guest et al, 2020)

Guts UK is the national charity for the digestive system, helping the UK get to grips with guts for over 50 years. The charity’s vision is a world where digestive conditions are better understood, better treated and everyone who lives with one gets the support they need. Its mission is to improve the lives of millions of people affected by digestive conditions through three main areas of work: information and support, awareness and public education, and research.

Viscopaste and Ichthopaste Bandages and Zipzoc Medicated Stocking have a heritage to be proud of and have been trusted by clinicians for decades to treat patients successfully. But despite their longevity in the armoury of many healthcare professionals, there is often still some uncertainty around product selection, with clinicians asking, ‘how do I know which product to choose for my patient?’ Despite using the products for many years, clinicians and patients are often unable to explain the specific modes of action of zinc oxide and ichthammol. This can result in a knowledge gap in relation to product choice and the healing success that they observe. This feature provides the reader with a better understanding of when it might be desirable to choose one of these products over another. But first, let’s look at the main raw ingredients of zinc oxide and ichthammol.

This article provides an overview of venous leg ulcers, the current landscape and an evaluation of an intervention strategy implemented in York. The authors’ lower limb specialist wound clinic was set up to reduce variations in management and improve standardisation of care when treating venous leg ulcers. The purpose of the evaluation was to demonstrate the impact of a specialist wound clinic implementing evidence-based strategies and early interventions in line with national guidance for venous leg ulceration. The results demonstrate how this approach can improve outcomes and deliver value-based healthcare.