Tissue Viability Service
01246 516157
Working hours 08:30 – 16:30 Mon-Fri
01246 516157
(Office next to the linen room)
Our aims and philosophy
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All patients with altered skin integrity will be treated with dignity and respect, they will receive individualised, evidence- based care designed to relieve symptoms and wherever possible achieve healing in a cost effective and timely manner.
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Patients will be directly involved in their care decisions wherever possible.
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Early involvement of a specialist multidisciplinary team enhances individualised care and improves the patient experience and outcome.
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You can find out more about us on the Tissue Viability intranet page.
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The Tissue Viability team is made up of five members:
Vicky Warner – Tissue Viability Lead Nurse
I qualified as a registered nurse in 1997 and have been a Tissue Viability Nurse since 2005, undertaking three modules in Tissue Viability at Bradford University in Wound care, leg ulceration and pressure ulcers as well as completing a master’s course in sharp debridement. Prior to this my nursing experience is in orthopaedics, plastic and reconstructive surgery and critical care. I have led the Tissue Viability Service at Chesterfield since February 2015 and strive to always deliver optimal care for patients with altered skin integrity. The service is committed to supporting the Organisation in reducing harm to our patients from pressure damage.
Sally Newcomb – Tissue Viability Nurse Practitioner
Hello, my name is Sally. I have been a qualified nurse since 2001 and have worked in both the medical and surgical care units here at Chesterfield Royal Hospital. I joined the Tissue Viability Team in 2015 and am passionate about all things wound care related. I have recently completed my MSc in Advanced Practice, where I studied Long Term Condition Management, Research, Communication and of course Tissue Viability. My proudest moment in my working career is having a piece of work published on pressure ulcer healing rates in Wounds UK Journal.
Dani Waddingham – Tissue Viability Staff Nurse
My name is Danielle Waddingham better known as Dani. I qualified as a registered adult nurse in 2013 going on to top up my nursing degree in 2023. Since qualifying I have a worked in a range of areas but mostly surgical in background. Being exposed to different specialities in nursing, I feel has helped me have a good structure of nursing care foundations to support me going into tissue viability team. I proudly joined Tissue viability team in January 2023 exactly 10 years from receiving my pin. The team has been incredibly supportive helping me with my learning and welcomed me warmly to the team.
Rachel Hoyle - Tissue Viability Staff Nurse
Hi there, my name is Rachel and I have been with the tissue viability team since February ‘23. Before starting this role, I worked in the surgical division, which I did from qualifying in March ’15. I have always had an interest in wounds and the best treatment plan for them and I was the tissue viability link nurse for the ward, which was a role I thoroughly enjoyed – hence why I applied for the staff nurse role within the team when the opportunity came up.
Since starting with the tissue viability team, I have increased my knowledge and skills in all things skin and wound related and I am applying to go back to university to complete modules in tissue viability.
When I am not at work, I enjoy spending time with my family (mainly trying to keep my daughter entertained!!) I also enjoy watching Ice Hockey and Rugby and I am a huge fan of crime documentaries and psychological thrillers (I have been known to binge watch a series in less than 24hours before)
Lorraine Walker – Tissue Viability Admin Assistant
I am new to the Tissue Viability Team and only joined them in August 2023. I have worked mainly in administration for over 30 years, the past 20 years for the family Construction company. I love a Spreadsheet and enjoy creating visually pleasing documents 😊 This is my first admin role within the NHS. I had my own Gift Shop for 3 years and I enjoyed meeting people from different backgrounds on a daily basis, I loved learning how to create Balloon displays and still do this in my spare time. I have 3 children and 2 cockapoos called Charlie & Alfie.
You can find out more about us on the Tissue Viability intranet page.
Team Structure and Links
Our team provides a specialist advisory service to patients with a wide variety of complex wounds including pressure ulcers, leg ulcers, surgical wounds, and complex non healing wounds.
We have a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of reviewing patients within 2 working days of receipt of referral.
A staggering 2 million patients are treated with wounds every year at a cost of more than £5billion to the NHS. The average cost per individual wound is £2,300 and these costs will rise with an aging population. Sixty-six per cent of the total annual NHS cost was incurred in the community and the remainder in secondary care. Wound care is still seen as predominantly nurse led. Tissue viability is a growing speciality that primarily considers all aspects of skin and soft tissue wounds including acute surgical wounds, pressure ulcers and all forms of leg ulceration - (Tissue Viability Society 2009).
Glossary of terms you might hear during your time with us.
Nice Guidelines for pressure ulcers: prevention and management
Take a look at our online resource file, it has pretty much everything you need to know about how to treat wounds.
This can be found on the Chesterfield Royal Hospital Intranet accessible on a trust computer under Tissue Viability.
Pressure ulcers from the patients perspective: Diane's story
Some of our specialist treatments
Along with delivering specialist treatments we also focus on education around reducing pressure ulcer incidents and how, with a few simple steps, most of the pressure damage/deterioration can be avoided. This is aimed at both ward staff and patients.
For staff, we offer advice and training around Repositioning and pressure points, Heel offloading, 30-degree tilts, Pressure Ulcer Categories (EPUAP) and Dressing Selections – Please feel free to do your own research prior to your placement (Hint……. a lot of these can be found either on the wards or on the Tissue Viability Intranet page)
Twice a week Dani and Rachel visit the wards to offer support, advice, and any training the staff want/need in order to give their patients the best possible care.
Education aimed at patients is around the importance of repositioning and encourage them to either relieve their own pressure areas or ask staff to help them. All wards have access to a patient information leaflet that highlights the importance of this.
Your learning objectives whilst on placement with the service:
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Holistic assessment of wounds
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Wound bed preparation
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Indentification and management of wound infection
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Pressure ulcer prevention and management
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Indentifying barriers to wound healing
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Appropriate use of dressings to facilitate wound healing and symptom management
Anyway, that’s enough about us and our service. We look forward to seeing you on placement and we hope you enjoy your time with us.