With wound and skin care taking up a considerable part of general practice nursing time, the new GPN ‘nurse consultation’ series follows the therapy chain for the management of patients with venous leg ulcers and looks at the skills needed to ensure safe, competent and professional consultations with patients.
Here, Kimberley Socrates, tissue viability nurse specialist, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, looks at the first link, i.e. the importance of accurate wound assessment aided by skin/ wound cleansing and debridement, and offers a simple, clinical and cost-effective method of debridement.
Coeliac disease is a long-term condition which affects approximately one in 100 people in the UK. This article explores which patients may need to be screened for the condition and the symptoms they may present with. Once diagnosed with the condition, patients need to follow a lifelong gluten-free diet to prevent complications. This article looks at the many roles that general practice nurses (GPNs) have in promoting compliance with the treatment of a gluten-free diet, as well as discussing how they can help to manage the risk of complications such as osteoporosis and infectious disease.
Success!