ABSTRACT
Wound care is a skill that is required in all clinical areas. It is therefore important that all nurses, healthcare assistants and students have the knowledge required to assess, plan and deliver the best treatment possible according to national guidelines. It is estimated that 3.5 per 1000 patients suffer from wounds (Vowden et al. 2009). Beldon (2010) highlights that lack of knowledge, individualised wound assessment and the construction and maintenance of effective management plans by nurses is seriously deficient. When patients present with a wound/pressure ulcer for the first time you must assess the patient holistically, considering all the factors that may have caused a wound to develop and what is likely to delay healing.
