My passion for wound care

When I left the NHS in July 2020 I was given a ‘wordle’ made up of words people used to describe me. I was very pleased to see that the most popular word was ‘passionate’ because that is what I truly feel when working in the speciality of wound care.

Back in 1983, my first post after qualifying as a nurse was on a dermatology ward. I had never worked in dermatology in my training and if I am honest, it was not my first choice! I therefore went into the job with some hesitation and slight reluctance. I am so grateful for that opportunity because this post started my passion for wound care, and in particular leg ulceration because it exposed me to the terrible suffering of people living with this condition. The memory of a very stoical 93 year old farmers wife with bilateral leg ulcers and the pain she experienced has remained with me throughout my nursing career and it was this observation that has fuelled my passion for leg ulcer service improvement over the years.

Nearly 40 years on from this experience we still have work to do. National campaigns such as Legs Matter (www.legsmatter.org) has really helped raise awareness of lower limb and foot conditions across both the public (and patients) and Health Care Professionals and NHS England have included a lower limb management workstream within their national wound care strategy programme. This is fantastic news, but there needs to be a comprehensive implementation of the guidelines with local commissioners and NHS Trust providers seeing this as a priority if change is to happen.

In my role as an independent consultant in wound care I will continue to be passionate about wound care and look forward to working with other stakeholders on strategies to improve outcomes for patients.