88-9Leg Club.indd

As a former district nurse and latterly a tissue viability clinical nurse specialist (CNS), I have always been interested in patients with unmet psychosocial needs relating to chronic venous leg ulceration (Brown, 2003). The high recurrence rates of venous leg ulcers is well documented (Mayberry et al, 1991; Moffatt and Franks, 1995). It therefore always seemed a futile exercise to heal leg ulcers and then discharge patients from care, complete with compression hosiery and an information booklet, but with no fur ther interventions planned. While this problem was readily acknowledged in my trust, limited clinic space, leg-ulcer clinic waiting times and lack of staff were cited as barriers to implementing a more proactive service.