All non-healing wounds are thought to contain biofilm. The wound cannot start to heal until the biofilm is removed. Here, you will learn why biofilm delays healing, how to tell if it is present and eradicate it from the wound.

Learning outcomes:

• • Understand what wound biofilm is
• • Knowledge of how it affects wound
• • Appreciation that biofilm can be a barrier to healing
• • Awareness of solutions for combating biofilm in wounds
  

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Formerly known as moisture-associated skin damage (MASD), this is an umbrella term for the skin irritation and sensitivity caused by contact with corrosive bodily fluids, such as sweat, exudate, faeces, urine and stoma fluid, often resulting in tissue loss. This session will describe the risk factors, and explore the options for prevention and management.

Learning outcomes:

• • Understanding of the complexities of irritant contact dermatitis (MASD) and the four conditions that relate to it
• • Knowledge of the importance of assessment and classification of irritant contact dermatitis
• • Awareness of how a structured approach to irritant contact dermatitis can improve patient outcomes
• • Case studies demonstrating how to align the NHS principle – the right treatment at the right time
  

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A holistic assessment will help determine your patient needs and help provide a shift from managing to healing wounds. This session will include engaging activities to help you understand how to perform wound assessments that can help make a real difference to your patients.

Learning outcomes:

• • Understanding of the importance of a full holistic assessment
• • Ability to identify a wound that is not healing
• • Awareness of useful strategies for accurate wound measurement
• • Knowledge of how to use the TIMERS acronym to guide care planning
  
  

Venous leg ulceration usually presents further down the line following initial clinical signs of venous disease, such as hyperkeratosis, varicose veins and venous eczema. Early treatment of venous disease can help prevent the occurrence of a venous leg ulcer. This session will explain what clinical signs to look out for.

Learning outcomes

• • Improved ability to spot early the clinical signs of venous hypertension
• • Ability to diagnose issues in the lower limb early and accurately
• • Awareness of the importance of the multidisciplinary team in leg ulcer care
• • Ability to support patient self-care
  

Unless dead tissue and biofilm are removed, a wound will not heal. The debridement method used needs to be aggressive enough to achieve this, while also safe for the patient. In this session, you will learn what constitutes safe and effective debridement.

Learning outcomes:

• • Role of debridement in wound management and its impact on healing outcomes
• • Benefits of debridement, including removal of devitalized tissue, improved wound assessment, enhanced topical therapy effectiveness, and stimulation of repair, as well as the key contraindications
• • Differentiation between autolytic, mechanical, enzymatic, larval, hydro-surgical, and theatre-based debridement, outlining their indications, benefits, and limitations.
• • Essential requirements for safe debridement practice, including patient assessment, informed consent, appropriate clinical environment, and structured post-procedural care
  
  

One of the most common wound complications, infection can delay healing, resulting in prolonged hospital stays and readmissions, as well as increased staff workload. For patients and their loved ones and carers, the impact can be devastating. This session will explore how to identify clinical signs of infection, to enable prompt treatment

Learning outcomes

• • The underlying mechanisms that contribute to wound infection and delayed healing
• • Ability to differentiate between the clinical signs and symptoms of inflammation and infection
• • Increased understanding of the wound infection continuum and antimicrobial stewardship
• • Diagnostic methods for detecting wound infection
  

Most pressure injuries are avoidable, making them an unacceptable patient harm. A simple and well-known care-bundle approach can help prevent their occurrence. Repositioning plays a central role in this. But the need to facilitate reperfusion after moving the patient is often overlooked. This session will discuss the importance of repositioning to reperfuse.

Learning outcomes

• • Definition of reperfusion
• • Awareness of the importance of significant repositioning in reperfusion
• • Ability to reposition the patient to enable reperfusion

Effective communication is at the heart of delivering high-quality, person-centred wound care. This session will explore how communication techniques can shift the focus from task-oriented care to a more collaborative approach likely to promote healing. You will gain insight into how to approach conversations around wound care with greater empathy, clarity, and confidence.

Learning outcomes:

• • Identify key principles of effective patient communication in wound care, including active listening, empathy, and clarity.
• • Demonstrate strategies for managing difficult or sensitive conversations related to wound management, such as pain, malodour, or delayed healing.
• • Apply person-centred communication techniques to enhance patient understanding, engagement, and concordance with wound care plans.
• • Recognise the impact of language, tone, and non-verbal cues on patient trust, adherence, and psychological well-being