Collaboration drives improvements in care for people with chronic wounds
People living with chronic wounds are benefitting from safer, more effective and consistent care thanks to collaboration and innovation being driven forward by NHS community wound care teams.
Specialist wound care nurses at Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT), North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) and Provide Community Interest Company (Provide), as part of the Mid and South Essex Community Collaborative have come together to form the Mid and South Essex Wound Care Transformation Project Group.
The group strives to enhance community wound care services through increased innovation and collaboration.
An estimated 3.8 million people across the UK are living with chronic wounds. The most common types of chronic wound are venous leg ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers and pressure ulcers. 80% of wound care is managed within the community – so developing our community teams’ capacity to manage and treat chronic wounds is crucial to support people’s health and wellbeing.
As an accelerator site for the National Wound Care Strategy Programme, the Mid and South Essex Wound Care Transformation Group will be among the first in the country to implement latest recommendations, putting mid and south Essex at the cutting edge of community wound care.
The group has been successful in implementing a number of improvements, including:
- Creation of a joint wound care formulary: a set of guidance which ensures patients across mid and south Essex have access to consistent, safe, effective care.
- Introduction of new mandatory wound management training for community nurses.
- Pilot of Minuteful for Wound: an app which enables clinicians to scan, review and monitor wounds more effectively.
To mark Legs Matter Week, which aims to raise awareness of leg and foot conditions and advocate for improved treatment, the team has created a short video showcasing their work so far.
They also encourage colleagues, patients, carers and members of the public to visit the Legs Matter website to learn more about chronic wounds and their treatment.