Click here for the Wounds UK Home Page February 2006

Where will our next wound care innovations come from?	The year sees the launch of the Wounds UK Awards for excellence in wound care practice. I feel very strongly that as a group we are guilty of hiding our light under the proverbial bushel. It may be inherent in nursing that we never feel that we are doing as well as we would like. It could be related to the historical place of nursing in healthcare, thoughts of the 'Doctors' handmaiden' tag come to mind or possibly the way society perceives nurses as 'angels' and therefore it is expected of us that we will work tirelessly for little reward. Some things have changed, nurses and nursing as a discipline have moved on, possibly more rapidly than any other health care profession. We have proven through the advent of the nurse specialist, nurse consultant and advanced practitioner that we have the ability to adapt and change to meet any challenges which are set for us. We are the one constant in the patient journey, regardless of the speciality, and respect for the ability of nurses has grown. Nurses have the ability to really assess and treat the whole patient, taking into account psychosocial issues, economic and personal issues which we know can impact on the patients ability to progress. A sure sign of our success is the medical professions' acknowledgement of such skills by making them now a core part of medical education. So back to my original thread, nurses are still not pushing themselves forward enough to say 'this is what I do, I do it well and my team are successful'. It may be that the press and public are more impressed with huge medical and technological innovation and therefore we feel that the work at the 'coal face' should carry on unrewarded. I would disagree wholeheartedly and I think that those of you doing good work sometimes under challenging circumstances should be recognised. This leads me to the Wounds UK awards to be held on 9th June 2006. These awards will feature a number of categories including primary care, hospital, surgical, leg ulcers and pressure ulcers to name but a few. Many of you will not fully appreciate the contribution that you are making to patient care and to wound care as a discipline. I would therefore suggest that you consider putting you or a colleague forward for one of these awards. Good Luck! The closing date for entries is the 31st March 2006 and winners will be notified by 28th April. You can enter online at www.wounds-uk.com/awards.shtml John Timmons Editor Email: John.Timmons@gcal.ac.uk	References Latest journal references

Where will our next wound care innovations come from? I'm sure that we will all agree that there are many and varied products on the wound care market today and indeed there seems to be no end to the amount of new products being produced. For the companies, the goals are more obvious, create a unique product which will (with luck) revolutionise wound care. Large chunks of company budgets are spent in the research and development areas, hoping to uncover technology which will prove useful and successful in the market place. For every one product which comes to market there are possibly 10 more which do not make it to this stage. In the past, the NHS was the key driver for new techniques and technologies, often being at the forefront of discovery. Yet over the years this role has been eroded, in part due to resource issues, and also with changes in NHS structure, finding time to carry out meaningful research has proven difficult. The balance has now shifted towards the commercial sector and with this brings a new focus. My main worry is that in allowing this to happen we may be driven by commerce and not by patient need. Before I go on I am acutely aware that many companies now send researchers into the clinical area in order to identify clinical issues which may be the source of new ideas, and this work I commend. I would suggest, however, that we have to consider research emanating from the patient, the practitioners and the service. From a patient perspective we are able to examine the impact which dressings/treatment regimes may have and often more importantly what the current treatments do not do. This may be in relation to comfort, absorbency wear time, compliance, the list is endless, but nonetheless who better to inform our practice than the end user. We must also consider the relative or carer in this situation, as product versatility and ease of application are also important issues. These points only relate to dressings ( a small part of what we do) but all aspects of patient care should be examined in this way in order to push forward research and continue to improve the service we provide. As practitioners we are well placed to establish the efficacy of products, treatment regimes and gauge patient satisfaction. We are also in the unique position of being able to review product performance over longer periods of time on a number of different wound types. Key areas for future product development may include dressings which tell us more about the wound, exudate levels, presence of bacteria and better indications of when dressings require to be changed and as practitioners we are in a key position to influence the industry regarding what we need in order to improve patient care. Finally we have to consider the service we provide for patients and whether we are meeting their needs. There is much scope for research into the 'user friendliness' of our clinics and systems. Are patients left waiting to see specialists for long periods and is there a role for telemedicine? particularly for those patients who cannot travel to clinics. Other issues such as improving documentation systems could go a long way to ensuring continuity of care for patients who are being cared in 'multi agency' settings. I am aware that we have to work hand in hand with industry in order to drive wound care forward. I am also aware that we are in a position to broaden the scope of the of the research effort in order to meet the needs of patients, carers and the staff who use the therapies which are developed. Keep reading for: Latest journal references Download this newsletter in PDF format References This month's references look rather sparse, possibly due to the timing of Journal Release. Frye, K. E.; Luterman, A (2005) Decreased Incidence of Hypertrophic Burn Scar Formation with the Use of Collagenase, an Enzymatic Debriding Agent. WOUNDS VOL 17; NUMB 12;pp. pp. 332-336 Gardner, W. B.; Cameron, R. G.; Vowden, P.; Lane, C.; Grocott, P (2005) A Technique for the Use of 3D Surface Imaging to Study Wound Dressing Fixation pp. 337-346 Lansdown A (2005) Silver dressings: absorption and antibacterial efficacy Nursing Times VOL 101, NO 46, No Author stated. Should health care assistants apply compression bandages? (2006) NURSING TIMES VOL 102; NUMB 4; pp. 36-37   Download this newsletter in PDF format