Click here for the Wounds UK Home Page June 2006

Wounds UK awards Write up of the awards evening Applied Wound Management Software	A Big Month for Wound Care This month sees the launch of the first National Wounds Day on June 22nd. A number of events will take place on this date which will celebrate the excellent work being done in this field and raise the profile of wounds throughout the UK. The Wounds UK Summer Conference, Dermatology and Paediatric Conferences will be taking place at The Stoneleigh Park Hotel in Warwickshire. There will be a press conference involving some of the leading lights in wound and leg ulcer care, Keith Harding, Christine Moffatt and David Gray. The issue of chronic wounds and their management has been one which has received little attention over the years. The UK is one of the leading countries in wound management and is recognised throughout the world as key to innovation and research in this field. Yet, despite the efforts of a number of specialists and research institutes, the subject of wounds has remained relatively low down the list of NHS and government priorities. In fact the main focus of attention has been on trying to reduce the cost of treatment of chronic wounds. Whilst we would agree that cost cannot be ignored, focussing purely on cost reduction could prove to be damaging, with so much pressure on the industry and wound care specialists it is patient care which will suffer. The real question which should be asked is not how much money should be spent but how many patients will be expected to suffer such wounds in the foreseeable future. If we begin by planning for the conditions which are inevitable in an aging population then we and the NHS can set more realistic goals for managing and treating patients with wounds. Strides have been made in relation to pushing wounds further up the political agenda and this year questions have been raised in the house. Significant progress has been made over the past 20 years and there is much to celebrate in wound management with experts throughout the UK continually working to improve patient care. What will you be doing on June 22nd? John Timmons Editor Email: John.Timmons@gcal.ac.uk	References Latest journal references

Wounds UK awards The first Wounds UK awards took place in the Imperial War Museum Manchester on June 9th. The evening was a huge success with many companies hosting educational events throughout the day of the awards. The hosts for the evening were broadcaster Natasha Kiplinski, Professor Keith Harding and David Gray. The awards celebrated the efforts of many professionals working in wound, pressure ulcer, leg ulcer and burns management. Almost 200 hundred nominations were received for the awards in 10 categories. Among the winners were Keith Harding and Christine Moffatt, both of whom received awards for their outstanding contribution to wound care. Congratulations to all the winners and runners up.   Keep reading for: Applied Wound Management Software Latest journal references Download this newsletter in PDF format Applied Wound Management Software As a result of last months editorial we received a large number of requests for the Applied Wound Management Software. This decision making support tool has been utilised within the Aberdeen Tissue Viability service and the team have recently published a report which has been generated from the software (Gray, Cooper and McGuffog et al, 2006). This report helps to demonstrate the utility of such a system and how this can be used to help support practice. Gray D, Cooper P, McGuffog J, Russell F, Stringfellow S, Kingsley A and White R (2006) A clinical audit of a Tissue Viability Service using applied wound management. Wounds UK vol 2 issue 2 pp 47-59. Keep reading for: Latest journal references Download this newsletter in PDF format References Blakytny, R.; Jude, E (2006) The molecular biology of chronic wounds and delayed healing in diabetes DIABETIC MEDICINE -CHICHESTER- VOL 23; NUMBER 6 pp. 594-608 Capriata, S.; Legori, A.; Motolese, A. (2006) Contact sensitivity in patients with leg ulcers ANNALI ITALIANI DI DERMATOLOGIA ALLERGOLOGICA CLINICA E SPERIMENTALE VOL 60; NUMB 1 pp. 15-21 Essary, V.; Harville, D.; Moore, M. (2006) Preparing For Pay For Performance: Caring For Patients With Pressure Ulcers Standardizing A Wound Care Program REMINGTON REPORT VOL 14; NUMB 3; SUPP pp. 13-15 Fleck, CA (2006) Fighting Infection in Chronic Wounds ADVANCES IN SKIN AND WOUND CARE VOL 19; NUMB 4 pp. 184-188. Kalousis, K.; Mironidou-Tzouveleki, M.; Foroglou, P.; Karkavelas, G (2006) The effect of the exogenous administration of hyaluronic acid on the healing of surgical incision wounds: Preliminary results of a clinical study REVIEW OF CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY AND PHARMACOKINETICS -INTERNATIONAL EDITION- VOL 20; NUMB 2 pp. 185-188 Krol, J.; Florek, M.; Pliszczak-Krol, A.; Staroniewicz, Z.MEDYCYNA (2006) Microbiologic analysis of bite wounds in humans caused by dogs and cats WETERYNARYJNA VOL 62; PART 5 pp. 498-501 Weller, C. (2006) Researching Best Practice Service Provision for People Experiencing Chronic Wounds in the Community in Victoria INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR HUMAN CARING VOL 10; NUMB 2 pp. 65   Download this newsletter in PDF format