Wound Care
On this page you will find information around wound care in Somerset including the wound formulary.
Prescribing Guidelines by Clinical Area
Dressing selection is only a small part of the management of a patient with a wound. Prior to selecting a dressing for a wound there should be a full holistic assessment of the patient, as this is critical to enable effective planning and evaluation of the care provided.
Somerset Community Skin Care Algorithm
Tissue Viability Service
The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust community tissue viability service provides specialist support and advice to clinicians about wound care and tissue integrity issues. The service’s normal working hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (except Bank Holidays). They accept referrals from GPs, practice nurses, acute and community services trusts, St Margaret’s Hospice (on discharge) and nursing homes. They do not accept self-referrals, referrals to support inpatients in hospital acute trusts or non-NHS organisations, except nursing homes.
One of the tissue viability specialist nurses will either attend an appointment with the primary clinician or provide advice either written or via telephone.
Referrals can be accepted by email to TVN@SomersetFT.nhs.uk
Patients with wounds referrals will only be triaged if the referral form is accompanied by a wound assessment / current treatment plan and photographs.
Contact telephone number: 01460 243353
Larval Therapy
Any orders for larval therapy need to be directed to the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust Tissue Viability Team.
Anyone requiring this therapy will need a Tissue Viability referral sending to:
The Tissue Viability Nurse for that area will review requests and liaise with the referrer to confirm if the referral has been accepted and the order for larval therapy has been placed.
Please ensure that the delivery address is included with the referral.
If there are any questions regarding this, please contact the Tissue Viability Service on either the email address above or 01460 243353 to discuss.
Barrier creams
Please see the wound formulary for preferred barrier creams.
