Click here for the Wounds UK Home Page December 2005

Wounds firmly established on the political agenda   New charity for Leg Ulcer patients	Wounds UK Conference I found my trip to Harrogate this year refreshing on many fronts. Central to my renewed enthusiasm was the availability of so many world experts in wound care in one place, all of them still enthusiastic about the treatment of patients with wounds. I'm sure that I'm not the only person who comes back from Harrogate with renewed vigour and great plans for the coming year. 'This year I'm going to do the research which will change the face of wound care forever'. A chance meeting with a colleague soon relieved me of this 'vision' but instead she replaced this with another more achievable plan for the future. She said that the work we do now will, regardless of how small it may seem, help to shape the wound care research of the future. I think the phrase coined by Newton, 'Standing on the shoulders of giants' comes to mind. This message is, however, an important one, all too often we may get caught up in trying to produce a large scale randomised multi-centred double blind trial, but in essence it can be the small projects which can inspire us and others to bigger things in the future. Wounds UK at Harrogate had an ideal balance of both these approaches an each was equally well received. The key note sessions covered an excellent range of topics from the diabetic foot to establishing Wound Care guidelines, whilst the poster sessions were an ideal platform for an interesting and eclectic array of projects. John Timmons Editor Email: John.Timmons@gcal.ac.uk

Wounds firmly established on the political agenda The KCI symposium at Wounds UK focussed heavily on the need to force wound management onto the political agenda. At last there is a recognition by parliament that wound management is an issue which needs to be addressed in many ways. The actual cost of wound management and pressure ulcer treatment has been out at anything between £1.2 and £1.6 billion, which has made some MP's sit up and listen to the experts in this field. There is a chance that this may lead to an increase in funding for research in wound management and pressure ulcer prevention. At a time when the emphasis has been on the reduction of dressings costs across the UK, this may prove a paradox for some. My feelings are divided, I feel that the NHS should get the best possible deal to ensure that patients are treated well, however, this may come at a cost. If manufacturers are forced to cut costs in the shape of large scale contracts, then they will have to find savings elsewhere. This may come in the form of cuts to research and development budgets, which could stifle the development of wound care for the foreseeable future. Other ways to cut costs may mean moving the manufacturing base out of the UK or reducing the 'value added services'. It is the value added services such as education which may prove most costly to the NHS , as in many areas, rightly or wrongly, these services provide a large part of nurse education in wound management. As well as all this, we all know that the cheapest product may not be the best, it may need to be replaced more often or take longer to heal the wound. Yet these 'cost effectiveness' issues are difficult to prove when comparing alike products with non clinical people. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of wound care and the next few years may witness major changes in the wound care agenda, however, we must make sure that the patient is at the centre of all our decisions.   Keep reading for: New charity for Leg Ulcer patients Download this newsletter in PDF format New charity for Leg Ulcer patients The Lindsay Leg Club Foundation has now been officially launched as a registered charity. The charity will promote the development of Leg Clubs throughout the UK and beyond. The founder of the Foundation, Ellie Lindsay, has set up the Leg club idea in order to help patients with leg ulcers access treatment in a less 'clinical' environment and focus on 'empowering' the patient. There is a strong 'social' bond within the groups and this helps to prevent some of the psychosocial issues which are so prevalent in this patient group. Support and training will be provided for any nurses wishing to set up a Leg Club in their area. For information contact Lyn Bullock on 01473 749 565 or see www.legclub.org.   Download this newsletter in PDF format