The recent report from Lord Darzi (Darzi, 2009), ‘Transforming community services’ is the second to be authored by Ara Darzi and follows in the wake of his review of the NHS in England last year (Darzi, 2008). This latest report is to be welcomed by those who provide care in the community setting. For staff who are involved in tissue viability (including wound care) it has long been known that the predominant wound care workload is in primary care. However, little has been done to provide the necessary resources or acknowledge the vital role that community staff have to play. It is also important to emphasise that the commissioners of care (PCTs) should give due recognition to the fact that tissue viability care covers a broad spectrum of interventions from ‘basic/fundamental’ through to highly specialised care, including preventive measures to avoid skin and soft tissue damage, vascular assessment, diagnosis of wound infection, and sharp debridement, all of which require specialised clinical skills (White, 2008). The report stresses the importance of ‘getting the basics right — every time’. An admirable sentiment, but how does Darzi address this in his report?