Tag: Kathryn Vowden

Best Practice Statement – Addressing complexities in the management of venous leg ulcers

Author(s): Jacqui Fletcher, Leanne Atkin, Caroline Dowsett, Sarah Gardner, Alison Schofield, Karen Staines, Kathryn Vowden

 

This document builds on the Best Practice Statement: Holistic Management of Venous Leg Ulcers to address complexities in the management of venous leg ulcers … The aim of this document is to help ensure consistent clinical practices in relation to the assessment and management of people with VLUs who are outside the scope of the leg ulcer treatment pathway developed by Atkin and Tickle (2016). It will provide guidance based on relevant evidence and the experiences and opinions of clinicians, with a focus on practical, holistic and patient-centred strategies … read more

Integrating adjunctive therapy into practice: recognising ‘hard-to-heal’ wounds

The problem of delayed wound healing has been highlighted in several publications which has stimulated debate on variance and the need for updated care pathways. This paper demonstrates how adjunctive therapy can be added to the ‘standard care’ model, described in the National Wound Care Strategy Programme’s recommendations for lower limb wounds, to enhance outcomes for patients with ‘hard-to-heal’ lower limb wounds (NWCSP, 2020). A decision-making pathway based on published literature is described which uses wound assessment and observed response to treatment to allow the effective and targeted introduction of adjunctive therapies for ‘hard-to-heal’ wounds. This approach will allow the cost-effective introduction of new and evolving therapies, such as WoundExpress™ (Huntleigh Healthcare), which addresses the underlying problems associated with resistant lower limb oedema and … read more