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Advancis Medical has walked away with the Innovation award in this year's Medilink East Midlands Innovation Competition. Mark Allatt collected the prize on behalf of the company based in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, at the Innovation Day awards' evening that was held at Pride Park Stadium in Derby, last night.
Advancis Medical focuses on designing innovative and advanced wound care products, offering clinicians and wound care specialists the opportunity to heal patient's wounds efficiently and effectively whilst providing the health services with cost effective wound care solutions. When tissue viability professionals called for a super absorbent dressing to cover the whole leg, Advancis came up with the Eclypse Boot, the first product of its kind. Helen Johnstone for sponsor Potter Clarkson LLP (patent and trade mark attorneys) said: "Advancis Medical have implemented their ideas across a range of products and we have good reason to expect further product extensions of this technology. Ideas, products and commercialisation equal innovation in action". Six companies won awards in five categories in this year's competition, further evidence of the East Midlands' impact and influence in the healthcare and bioscience business sector. The creativity and innovation shown by these companies has created jobs, profits and business growth which should contribute to the region's continued climb out of recession.
The 2010 Scholarships and Awards winner's lunch was held in the Wren Suite, St. Paul's cathedral. The Scholarships and Awards were presented by David Foster, Deputy Chief Nurse. David's speech clearly reflected the admiration he has for the practitioners who take part in the programme, and spent much time talking with clinicians about their role. We are delighted to announce the winners for 2010 are as follows: Experienced Practitioner Scholarship Novice Practitioner Scholarship Vanessa has been working to implement trust guidelines on the prevention and management of pressure ulcers. One element of their strategy involved a 'Pressure Ulcer Prevention Week' project, comprising education of, and feedback from, staff, patients and the local community. Posters were used to raise awareness of PU prevention, along with study days and a newsletter. Link nurses, the TV team and equipment staff sported 'Ask me about preventing pressure ulcer' badges to encourage staff and patients to find out more. In addition, education programmes have been developed that include all clinical staff. Success of the project will be evaluated through staff and patient interviews, documentation audit and pressure ulcer incidence monitoring. Team Award Winners The team implemented a multi-faceted review of the trust's tissue viability service, equipment contracts and pressure ulcer policy. The review was supported by the chief executive, chief nurse and medical director and sought the views of patients, carers and staff. They worked closely with their clinical governance and risk unit, who have included the strategy in their patient safety first initiative. The team has developed a credit card sized information card for patients at risk of pressure ulcer development to allow health professionals to implement prevention strategies as soon as possible. Awareness raising events such as quizzes and competitions are held in outpatient departments as part of the strategy, and links have been made with local supermarkets to explore their role in promoting good nutrition. There have been some difficulties with staffs who are intimidated by sharing what they perceive to be 'poor practice', but the team hopes to address this by outlining the long-term outcomes of such a strategy. This project so far has led to a decrease in the severity of pressure ulcers, increased awareness amongst staff and prompter management of those admitted with ulcers. In future, the team would like to include service users as part of the team. Barbara Pils and team, Parklands hospital, Basingstoke The team explored the feasibility of providing a leg ulcer service in the community for patients with ulcers that have not healed after four weeks of treatment. Funded by the local primary care trust in 2006, the team undertook a pilot study, based in a local community hall. To facilitate referral, bookings are made through an internet appointment system. Patients are contacted by telephone within 48 hours and an appointment offered within 15 days. Patients are assessed using Leg Ulcer Telemedicine. Progress is monitored and information shared with the community and practice nurses, the GP and carers. Patients are given 'healing progress' graphs and other documentation as required. Care plans are detailed enough to be used as educational tools for the non-specialist nurses caring for these patients. Over a 7 month period, 121 referrals were received. Average ulcer duration was 36 weeks, and after referral to the clinic, healing time averaged 7 weeks, and healing rate was 46% at 12 weeks. The project has now developed into a fully-fledged wound care service, where specialist treatment is provided. The team works closely with the podiatry, vascular and dermatology services, and a 'well-leg' service has been implemented. It has demonstrated that working with commissioners in an innovative way can lead to positive, cost-effective patient outcomes. Highly commended This team of seven covers 5100 beds in 25 acute hospitals and 10 regional specialist units. Previously, the TV nurses practiced independently of each other, only occasionally liaising. However, they realised that they would achieve more working collectively. The first project they worked on together centred on the equipment supply contract. While it is fair to say that this first attempt wasn't a great success, the team began to explore their strengths and weaknesses and how these respectively might be utilised and improved. Over the past year, the team has developed a TV policy, devised a training schedule for staff, implemented new documentation and participated in audit and research. The have also developed a wound care formulary and are currently auditing their effectiveness as a team. Tissue Viability Champion Award Winner Jane was nominated for this award for the work she has undertaken in providing community based care for those with chronic lower limb oedema and lymphoedema. Jane developed this service in response to an identified need. She undertook a diploma module in lymphoedema care and has shared her knowledge and skills with her team so that the patients receive the best care possible. She is working to develop a practice guideline and teaching other community teams how to care for such patients. They are working with the local hospice to provide care for those patients with end-of-life oedema. As a result of Jane's work, patients no longer have to travel from Powys to South Wales (or even England!) for lymphoedema treatment. For more information on the Wound Academy Scholarships and Awards please visit Molnlycke.com
- Wound Essentials Summer Conference - Palliative Wound Care Conference - JCN Roadshows - 4th International Interdisciplinary Conference on Posture and Mobility
7 - 9 June 2010 at SECC Glasgow - Avoidable Pressure Ulcers - Implementing the High Impact Action: Your Skin Matters
Bolton, L. (2010)Improving Wound and Lymphedema Treatment Outcomes in Limited-Resource Environments: An Integrated Approach. WOUNDS VOL 22; NUMB 3; 2010 pp. 52-54 Macdonald, J.; Asiedu, K. (2010) WAWLC: World Alliance for Wound and Lymphedema Care. WOUNDS VOL 22; NUMB 3; pp. 55-59 Post, E.; Geyer, M.J. (2010) Design of a District-level Pilot Project Model for the Prevention and Care of Chronic Wounds and Lymphedema in Settings With Limited Resources. VOL 22; NUMB 3; pp. 60-65 Stephen Percival and Keith Cutting have been involved in Editing a new book entitled The Microbiology of Wounds, for more details follow the link below:
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Mark Allatt, Sales and Marketing Director Advancis Medical said "The new products have had a fantastic reception in the market and demonstrates that close collaboration with our customers is the way ahead. With a number of exciting projects underway, I am very excited about the next few years for Advancis Medical".May 2010 |
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