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About the Programme

The National Wound Care Strategy Programme (NWCSP) was commissioned by NHS England and has developed from several previous initiatives which addressed the issue of sub-optimal wound care. Evidence points to marked unwarranted variation in UK wound care services, underuse of evidence-based practices and overuse of ineffective practices 1, 1 .

This offers major opportunities to improve the quality of chronic wound care through innovative solutions that will improve wound healing, prevent harm, increase productivity of staff, and produce financial savings in line with the requirements of the recent NHS Long Term Plan 2 .

In September 2018, the NWCSP was launched to address this situation. The vision is to develop recommendations which support excellence in preventing, assessing, and treating people with wounds to optimise healing and minimise the burden of wounds for patients, carers and health and care providers. The NWCSP was noted in the NHS Long Term Plan and in the National Patient Safety Strategy 3 .

1 Gray T.A, Rhodes S., Atkinsons R.A., et al. Opportunities for better value wound care: a multiservice, cross-sectional survey of complex wounds and their care in a UK community population. BMJ Open 2018 e019440.doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019440 .

2 NHS Long Term Plan 2019. Accessed at https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-term-plan/ 02.04.19

3 NHS National Patient Safety Strategy 2019. Accessed at:
https://improvement.nhs.uk/documents/5472/190708_Patient_Safety_Strategy_for_website_v4.pdf 28.10.19

The National Wound Care Strategy Programme is underpinned by the principles that:

Wound care should not be viewed as a separate clinical issue but be integrated into care of
underlying co-morbidities that cause or contribute to wounding and delayed/ non-healing.
The National Wound Care Strategy Programme is a long-term commitment to improving
wound care.
Success will depend on recognising and addressing the interdependencies between the
different professional groups and services involved in wound care.
The key priority is to improve patient care.