Introducing a new method of providing wound care products

Susan Knight is Wound Care Specialist Nurse, Community Health Buckinghamshire, Chalfonts and Gerrards Cross Hospital With the advent of nurse prescribing, nurses now prescribe the majority of wound care products in the community, gaining greater responsibility for providing cost-effective evidence-based care. An enhanced understanding of how dressings interact with the normal continuum of wound healing is needed, as inappropriate dressing choice can impede healing, increasing workload and resulting in rising healthcare costs. This article examines how nurses in one primary care trust, in partnership with a wound care company, developed an online system for providing wound dressing products to the patient and wound care education to the nursing staff.