Embedding the quality agenda into tissue viability and wound care

The vision for the NHS over the next 5 years is to go from ‘good to great’, with the government’s 5-year plan mapping the journey for the NHS while focusing on improving quality and productivity, using innovation and prevention to drive and connect them. The Department of Health’s 2010 report Frontline Care. Report of the Prime Minister’s Commission on the Future of Nursing and Midwifery in England identified the need to develop national nursing indicators that measure nurse quality and their impact on patient outcomes and satisfaction. This article explores the impact that the quality agenda will have on tissue viability and wound care, and discusses the development of effective and achievable metrics. The importance of the multidisciplinary team working together to develop metrics and achieve quality outcomes for patients is further identified and discussed.