02 October 2017

Raising awareness to reduce the burden of COPD.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the major causes of death in the UK and worldwide. Although public awareness has increased over the last 20 years, many people have still not heard of it or know about the symptoms and disability it causes. World COPD day was established by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) to raise awareness of the condition.

21 December 2018

Debridement is a key component of wound bed preparation, which should not be seen as a one-off procedure, but rather as something to be done on a regular basis and included in the patient care pathway. It plays a vital part in removing dead and contaminated tissue, which harbour bacteria posing a barrier to timely healing. Debridement can also remove the presence of biofilm. Wound cleansing is also an integral part of wound care practice. However, there is little evidence about the best method, frequency, or solution to use, which causes wound cleansing often to be seen as a controversial procedure. With developments in the wound care product market and smarter dressings and wound care therapies becoming available, little attention has been given to the use of cleansing solutions. Wound cleansing is technically defined as the use of fluids to remove loosely adherent debris and necrotic tissue from the wound bed to create an optimal wound healing environment.

19 June 2020

The ability to recognise the need for debridement is a vital skill for general practice nurses (GPNs), since it is an important part of preparing the wound for healing. Debridement removes dead tissue within the wound that can otherwise provide a physical barrier to healing, while also providing an ideal environment for micro-organisms, increasing the risk of infection. In order for healing to progress, it is important to debride the wound promptly. Failure to do so can result in wound chronicity and an associated impact on resources and patient quality of life. While there are different methods of debridement available, this article focuses on autolytic and mechanical, explaining how they work and their benefits and limitations.

08 April 2020

Highly exuding wounds can affect people of all ages, often causing distress, anxiety and social isolation. Managing these challenging wounds can also represent a significant cost to the NHS. This article looks at exudate and the difference between normal and excessive exudate and examines the causes of a high volume of exudate and its effect on the patient. Exudate assessment is an important part of holistic assessment, which is also explored in the article. Strategies GPNs can employ to manage exudate, including wound dressings and other devices, are then discussed.

01 October 2019

10 December 2020

Viscopaste and Ichthopaste bandages have been available in the wound care dressings market since the 1950s and 1930s respectively and are widely used within their clinical indications, primarily in lower limb management to treat leg ulcerations and the skin conditions associated with a leg ulcer. The products are commonly used within dermatology to manage chronic lichenified (thick and leathery) skin conditions, such as atopic eczema and dermatitis. Recently, Viscopaste and Ichthopaste bandages have been utilised in the management of skin conditions related to chronic oedema, for the treatment of patients with a diagnosis of red leg syndrome, which is often misdiagnosed as cellulitis (Elwell, 2014).

05 September 2022

Dermatological conditions are notoriously difficult to spell! Psoriasis with its silent ‘P’ and eczema without an ‘X’. But how about hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)? Hard to spell, hard to pronounce but, more importantly, really hard to be a patient with the condition.

01 September 2021

The long awaited, now published, ‘Getting it Right First Time’ (GIRFT) cardiology report (www. gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2021/08/Cardiology-Jul21k-NEW.pdf), places significant emphasis on the importance of diagnosis of heart failure and on rapid treatment in ambulatory care centres or in the community. However, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on cardiovascular disease in general cannot be denied or ignored. The pandemic has rewritten healthcare reality, as starkly recounted in the recent British Heart Foundation (BHF) ‘Untold Heartbreak’ report which highlights growing issues such as burgeoning waiting lists (www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-publicaffairs/legacy-of-covid).

Across the UK, people living with heart disease have experienced progressive worsening of their health while avoiding hospital or waiting for care, potentially missing windows of opportunity for treatments, leading to long-term disability from heart failure. But, the good news is that detection and early diagnosis can dramatically improve outcomes for people with heart failure (www.nicor.org.uk/nationalcardiac-audit-programme/about-heartfailure/), and recent approvals allow new, highly beneficial treatments to be offered — including for those with heart failure with HFpEF (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction), historically more difficult to manage.

The British Society for Heart Failure (BSH), the professional association for heart failure care in the UK, together with charities such as the BHF, professional associations, royal colleges, NHS England and Public Health England, has launched the ‘Freedom from Failure — The F Word’ campaign to expedite early detection and diagnosis by raising awareness of the need for self-recognition of the symptoms of heart failure (such as fighting for breath, fatigue and fluid retention) and to seek timely medical help. Early diagnosis is crucial to improving outcomes for those with heart failure (Taylor et al, 2019). And, with the now more widely available blood test (NTproBNP), easily conducted in general practice, the opportunity to eliminate a diagnosis of heart failure or strengthen the likelihood if levels are raised, is eminently possible (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE], 2018). Raised NP (natriuretic protein) indicates the need for more confirmatory tests (such as chest x-ray/echocardiogram) and referral to a specialist.

For this stage of the F Word campaign, the BSH is set to deliver informational, educational infographics and a series of webinars for healthcare professionals across all care settings, which build towards the BSH flagship annual Meeting in December. On 8 September there will be a live webinar called ‘The Heart Failure Observatory — Levelling Up’ on the subject of personalised medicine (does one size fit all...?). This webinar will focus on balancing the need for personalised care with the implications of the new European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for heart failure care (https://pace-cme.org/2021/06/29/previewof-the-2021-esc-hfa-heart-failureguidelines/); a complete overview of which will be presented at the ESC 2021 congress (27–30 August, 2021).

On World Heart Day, 29 September, a case study-based webinar called ‘Freedom from Failure — differentiating the symptoms of heart failure’ will examine differential heart failure diagnosis from other potentially masking conditions, such as fighting for breath/breathlessness. Also on this day, one of BSH’s infographics is planned for release, depicting our campaign ambassador, Brian Blessed, on an epic journey. On 21 October, a webinar showcasing devolved practice from the four nations of the UK with a focus on improving outcomes and patient experience is to be held. And in November, there will be a joint webinar event with the King’s Fund, with a lens on population health and heart failure. Over 1–3 December 2021, this year’s annual BSH meeting will take place as a hybrid event designed to appeal equally to in-person and virtual attendance. Come and join us, there should be something to appeal to everyone with an interest in heart failure.

To learn more about the F Word campaign, please visit: www.bsh.org.uk/the-f-word/ and for the BSH, visit: www.bsh.org.uk/

10 July 2023

In This Together (ITT) is an informative magazine, now in its sixth year, for people with conditions that require long-term management with compression therapy. We are excited to also launch the In This Together website so that we can offer more frequent education, resources and updates in between issues of the magazine.