A point prevalence survey of wounds in north-east England.

OBJECTIVE

To review current wound-care practice and the standard of wound care in Hull and East Yorkshire; obtain information on prevalence, treatment and outcomes; provide a basis for estimating the extent of the problem, treatment modalities used, service provision and future needs; highlight areas of care in need of improvement; highlight areas with excellent wound practices and gain information for future research projects within the population of the region.

METHOD

Point prevalence interface audit of community and acute trusts.

RESULTS

The cumulative wound prevalence for the region was 12%. Community nurses were involved in caring for 70.1% of patients with wounds, with 52.7% of wounds being treated in the patient's home. The largest proportion of wounds were surgical wounds (n=699, 41.5%), followed by leg and foot ulcers (n=629, 37.3%) and pressure ulcers (n=294, 17.4%). Diabetes and cancer were related to 15.1% and 9.7% of the wounds respectively. 41.9% of the wounds were on the lower leg. The primary and secondary dressings used the most were low/non-adherent dressings at 25.9% and 27.3% respectively.Almost half of the patients with a venous leg ulcer (46%) did not receive multilayer compression and 7% of patients with an arterial ulcer did; 23.6% of the leg and foot wounds were not assessed with a Doppler.

CONCLUSION

Wounds represent a significant cause of morbidity in the general population.A systematic focus is necessary on effective and timely diagnosis, on ensuring treatment is appropriate to the cause and condition of the wound and on active measures to prevent complications.A number of initiatives have commenced in order to provide a effective and efficient wound care.