Innovative community wound care app rollout shortlisted for HSJ Patient Safety Award
An Essex-based initiative to improve care for people with chronic wounds has been shortlisted for a prestigious HSJ Patient Safety Award.
Since July 2022, a group of Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust’s (EPUT) community health teams have been piloting Minuteful for Wound: an app which enables clinicians to measure, assess and monitor wounds and build 3D wound scans using a smartphone.
The app helps ensure wounds and measurements are recorded clearly, accurately and consistently which helps colleagues monitor changes and spot warning signs.
The HSJ Patient Safety Awards recognise the hard-working teams and individuals across the UK who are continually striving to deliver improved patient care. Winners will be announced at an official awards ceremony to be held on 18 September 2023 in Manchester.
Kerri Mackay, Deputy Director of Quality and Safety for Mid and South Essex Community Delivery at EPUT said: “Our teams have done an outstanding job championing the use of Minuteful for Wound, training colleagues and feeding back to the developer to help them continue to improve the app.
“Their work has brought about notable improvements to patient safety and care. It has helped ensure we have a full and accurate picture of every wound.
It has helped patients access enhanced care and the latest treatments, and has minimised delays and miscommunication between teams and services.
“Being shortlisted for an HSJ Patient Safety Award is a testament to this hard work and how our community teams have embraced the benefits of digital technology for patient care.”
Rollout of the app has helped staff provide safer and more effective care for patients; in the 6 months following the introduction of Minuteful for Wound in south east Essex, the average healing time for chronic wounds reduced by almost a quarter. The number of wound assessments completed and recorded has doubled.
Peter, who sees a Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist in Leigh-on-Sea, said: “Using the app has definitely improved things. By and large, we’ve been able to keep infection at bay.
“Having something tangible, so I can see my wound’s progress, has been really important. It’s reassuring; before I used to feel like I was walking around a bit blind.
“Every time I see my nurse, I’m able to see what’s changed, what’s improved. There are times when we’ve been a bit downhearted looking at the latest pictures – but then we compare then to the previous ones and realise things are heading in the right direction.
“I’m still quite active, so self-care has been very important for me and it’s good to see the results of this. We can see that what we’re doing is working.”
Since 2022, Minuteful for Wound has supported 1,492 patients like Peter, documenting 3,016 wounds through 7,200 assessments. Already one of the UK’s top three users of Minuteful for Wound, EPUT hopes to build upon this success.
As part of the Mid and South Essex (MSE) Community Collaborative, EPUT’s wound care teams are sharing their experiences and learning from Minuteful for Wound. The MSE Community Collaborative is exploring potential to expand use of Minuteful for Wound across all wound care teams in mid and south Essex.
An estimated 3.8 million people across the UK are living with chronic wounds – most commonly venous leg ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers and pressure ulcers. 80% of wound care is managed within the community – so developing community teams’ capacity to manage and treat chronic wounds is crucial to supporting people’s health and wellbeing.
