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How Nurses in Leicestershire Detect Static Wounds and Promote Patient Engagement

Case Study

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

Overview

Almost four million people in the UK have chronic wounds that take months or even years to heal, taking a heavy toll on those who suffer from them. In order to expedite healing, clinicians need consistent and standardised measurements and accurate records of wound assessments that can inform evidence-based decisions. But the tools at their disposal are often rudimentary and subjective. Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust deployed Healthy.io’s digital wound management service in order to improve wound assessment, monitoring and continuity of care.

94.5%

of patients said the use of the app had a positive effect on their well being

100%

of patients said the service helped them feel more involved in their care

100%

staff satisfaction across clinical teams

1/3

of static wounds identified by the service were no longer static within a 3-month period

The Challenge

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust provides community healthcare services to over one million people in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, including approximately 6,000 patients with chronic wounds every month. The Trust’s wound care clinicians identified a pressing need to identify static wounds early, allowing for rapid interventions that can reduce wound healing time, alleviating needless pain, cutting costs, and easing the burden on staff. To do so, they needed a solution that would address several challenges facing the organisation:

Inaccurate wound measurements

The use of paper rulers for wound assessments resulted in significant unwarranted variability in measurements, making it difficult to consistently track wounds over time and identify whether or not a wound is healing.

Low quality imagery

A visual record of a wound is important both to clinical decision-making and patient engagement. But the photographs of wounds taken by staff were of low quality and weren’t attached to patient records in a timely manner.

Lack of continuity

Consistent measurement, tracking and care for each wound is vital for healing. But due to staffing pressures, there is the risk that many patients will be seen by multiple staff members. Current methods of tracking a wound’s history are time consuming, making it challenging to review on a consistent basis. This can result in a delay in reviewing patient treatment pathways and impede healing.

The Solution

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust decided to partner with Healthy.io and deploy their digital wound management service. Now, clinicians and patients alike benefit from the ability to track wounds over time and consult with experts when necessary—with immediate effect on care plans and healing.

Clinicians visiting a patient for the first time can prepare by viewing the record of previous visits—including a series of photos showing the wound’s progress over time. The same records can also be shared and discussed in real time or asynchronously with other staff members working in different locations. This allows for ongoing consultations using less skilled staff, enabling expert staff members to supervise and make changes to care plans without having to visit the patient. Here’s how it works:

Scan

Clinician scans the wound using a smartphone and two colour calibration stickers

Assess

App uses AI to capture a standardised assessment, including wound measurement, location, and tissue distribution

Monitor

Data is uploaded to a web portal for staff access and integration with patient’s medical records

Outcomes

Early identification of stagnating wounds
Early identification of stagnating wounds

100% of staff said the app prompted early detection of static wounds, allowing for earlier intervention and reducing unnecessary suffering. Within a three-month period, one third of the stagnating wounds identified using the service were no longer stagnating, and the remaining two thirds had been moved onto a more appropriate care plan.

High-quality visual records
High-quality visual records

Clinicians can now access a dedicated central repository featuring standardised high-quality visual records, showing the progress of each wound over time, helping inform clinical decision-making and contributing to continuity of care.

Unanimous staff satisfaction and high confidence
Unanimous staff satisfaction and high confidence

100% of staff said they felt comfortable using the service, with an average user confidence score of 10/10.

Patient engagement
Patient engagement

Staff have regularly used the app to show patients their wounds and involve them in their care. 100% of patients said the service helped them engage in their care, and 94.5% said the use of the app had a positive effect on their well being.

We’re able to show patients how their wound is improving or deteriorating. It involves the patient in their decisions and they become more invested in their treatment plan.

Laura Browne,,
Operational Lead Tissue Viability, ,Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

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