TNP therapy in the community: findings of a national survey

Heather Newton is Nurse Consultant, Tissue Viability, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, Truro, Cornwall; Maureen Benbow is Senior Lecturer, University of Chester; Sylvie Hampton is Tissue Viability Consultant, Tissue Viability Consultancy Services; Pauline Beldon is Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust; Martyn Butcher is Skin and Wound Care Service Manager/TVNS, Derriford Hospital Plymouth, and Helena Baxter is Service Development Manager, Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Cambridgeshire In 2005 a national survey was conducted to assess the use of vacuum assisted closure across primary and secondary care settings. It was found that although tissue viability nurses are primarily responsible for the management of complex wounds in both primary and secondary care, in some cases, concerns were raised regarding responsibility for follow up and review, particularly when patients were discharged from hospital. In many cases the TVN was the key link between care settings. One of the major barriers for TVNs was the ease of access to VAC in community settings.