The tissue viability team offers treatment for complex wound management:  

  • Complex wound/leg ulcer clinics in the community
  • Education and training
  • Prevention and treatment for pressure ulcers
  • Treatment in leg ulcer management
  • Audit
  • Wound care guidelines and policy provision
  • Advise on the provision of specialist pressure relieving equipment
  • Advice is also offered on wound technology products
  • Negative pressure wound therapy 
  • Pressure ulcer prevention

Pressure ulcer prevention

We are committed to preventing pressure ulcers and helping local patients, families or carers to manage pressure ulcers more effectively.

Pressure ulcers result in a marked reduction of quality of life for patients and can be painful and hard to heal. This creates significant difficulties for patients, as well as their families and carers.

This page contains information for carers and patients on how to help prevent pressure ulcers. Carers play a vital role in preventing pressure ulcers as people who have frequent contact with the individual at risk and so it is important they are aware of how they can help reduce and prevent pressure ulcers from occurring.

What is a pressure ulcer?

  • Pressure ulcers can occur within a matter of hours for those at risk
  • A regular top to toe skin inspection is needed to help prevent pressure ulcers occurring. Look out for reddening that does not subside over bony areas.
  • Use the blanching / non-blanching technique to test for early pressure damage (see signs to watch out for below to demonstrate this simple technique)
  • Pressure ulcers in the NHS cost between £1.4 and £2.1 billion per year
  • A large amount of pressure ulcers are avoidable

Risk factors include:

  • Poor mobility - sitting or lying in one position for extended periods of time
  • Poor nutrition or hydration
  • Wheelchair users
  • Incontinence

Look out for red areas over bony prominences and take pressure off area:

A reddened area over sacrum.

Pressure ulcers image 01.jpg

 

Non-blanching area – demonstrating early stage pressure ulcer.

Pressure ulcers image 02.jpg

 

Please note: The darker the skin, the harder pressure ulcers will be to detect.  In darker skin, feel for hardness or heat around the affected area.

Stop The Pressure - information and films about pressure ulcers

Carers UK - help and advice for carers

All referrals should be made using the HCH referral form through the Single Point of Access service for Hounslow.

All referrals to the Tissue Viability Service should be made using the HCH referral form through the Single Point of Access service (SPA).

If you're a new patient, please contact your GP who will make a referral to our service via the Single Point of Access.

If you're a patient that was previously on our caseload, please contact the service and ask for a nurse. If there is a clinical need, the nurse can accept you back to the service via self-referral.

Telephone: 0300 077 0342

SPA referral form

Referral information:

When referring, please include the following information:

  • Type of wound
  • Treatment - historical and current
  • Completed wound assessment form or detailed information regarding wound care  
Return to Adult services

Contact information

Services are offered in clinics across our clinics and health centres, patients’ homes, care homes, nursing homes, community hospital wards, and GP practice nurse surgeries.

Telephone: 020 8714 4086

Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm (excluding bank holidays).

An answering machine operates when our administrators staff are on the phone or away from the desk.

Please ensure you speak clearly when leaving a voice message:

  • First name and last name
  • Your contact telephone number
  • The patient's NHS number
  • Brief reason for your call