About the Wound Care Education for the Health and Care Workforce programme
This elearning programme aims to support the health and care workforce in developing the knowledge and skills required to enable appropriate wound care to be delivered to people in any setting.
The National Wound Care Core Capabilities Framework for England sets out the requisite wound care knowledge and skills for the workforce. The sessions in this wound care programme support the development of tier 1 and 2 knowledge and skills as set out in the framework.
Focused on the main principles of wound care, sessions include:
Tier 1 essentials
- Essentials of Skin Care – Skin anatomy, function and assessment.
- Essentials of Wound Assessment – Different types of wounds and undertaking a wound assessment.
- Essentials of Leg Ulceration – Causes of leg ulceration, types of leg ulceration and their management.
- Essentials of the Foot at Risk – Anatomy of the foot, undertaking a simple foot assessment and making appropriate referrals.
- Essentials of Digital Wound Imaging – The principles of taking a good quality digital image, including consent and data storage considerations.
- Essentials of Pressure Ulcer Prevention – Using the aSSKINg framework to assess and manage identified risk of pressure area breakdown.
- Nutrition and lifestyle considerations – The impact of nutrition and lifestyle behaviours on wound healing
- Essentials of surgical wounds – Recognise what a surgical wound is and differences in classification, identify the benefits and potential complications of various closure methods and the role of wound drains.
- Pressure ulcer risk assessment: PURPOSE-T – Explains how to use the Pressure Ulcer Risk Primary or Secondary Evaluation Tool, PURPOSE-T (© Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, 2017).
Tier 2
- The Foot at Risk – Assessment of the foot for peripheral vascular disease, including palpation and isonation of pulses, measuring toe pressure and ankle brachial pressure index, assessing for claudication, critical limb ischaemia and the WIfI classification system.
- Choosing the right compression therapy – Reasons for compression, different compression therapy systems, measuring for and choosing maintenance hosiery.
- Dressing wounds – An introduction to the concept of using evidence to inform decisions about dressing wounds.
- An introduction to wound debridement – Developing understanding of what wound debridement is and when it should be offered as a therapeutic intervention.
The interactive modules include links to videos and activities, with each module taking 30 to 60 minutes to complete. Certificates are available to download on completion of each session. Tier 2 sessions include a knowledge assessment which must be passed to gain certification.
More information
These elearning sessions have been developed as part of the National Wound Care Strategy programme, which aims to implement a consistently high standard of wound care across England, by reducing unnecessary variation, improving safety and optimising patient experience and outcomes.
For more information on the National Wound Care Strategy Programme, please visit: https://www.nationalwoundcarestrategy.net/
Meet the team
Samantha Holloway Reader / Programme Director, Cardiff University.
Madeleine Flanagan Principal Lecturer, Programme Lead MSc Clinical Dermatology / Skin Integrity, University of Hertfordshire
Brenda King (MBE) Nurse Consultant
Kathryn Vowden (BEM) Nurse Consultant and Lecturer, University of Bradford
Amanda Robson Senior Nurse, National Nursing and Midwifery Team
Jacky Edwards Clinical Lead for Surgical Wound Complications & Wound Infection, Lead for Workforce and Education, National Wound Care Strategy Programme
Danielle Fullwood Senior Nurse, Professional Development, Health Education England
Mark Fores Senior Nurse, Workforce Delivery, Health Education England
Melissa Rochon Quality & Safety Lead for Surveillance, Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals, part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
Jacqui Fletcher Senior Clinical Advisor, Stop the Pressure Programme / National Wound Care Strategy, NHS England and NHS Improvement
Joanne Casey Podiatrist, The Royal College of Podiatry
Dr Judith Anders Podiatrist, The Royal College of Podiatry
Una Adderley Director, National Wound Care Strategy Programme
Rachael Lee Tissue Viability Nurse and Clinical Lead National, Wound Care Strategy Programme
Krishna Gohil Podiatrist and Clinical Lead, National Wound Care Strategy Programme
Nicky Morton Senior Nurse and Supply and Distribution Lead, National Wound Care Strategy Programme
Charlotte Devereaux Programme Manager, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), NHS England
Chris Wood Project Manager, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), NHS England
Jo Bloom Learning Designer, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), NHS England
Charlotte Howell Learning Designer, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), NHS England
Catherine Moran Graphic Designer, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), NHS England
Nicola Kipling Marketing and Communications Officer, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL), NHS England
How to access
Available to all
The Wound Care Education for the Health and Care Workforce programme is freely available to access here.
Please note your progress and completion of sessions will not be recorded and you will not be able to generate a record of completion. If you require evidence of learning, please register and then log in to access this programme on the elfh Hub.
If you already have an account with elfh, then you can enrol on to the Wound Care Education for the Health and Care Workforce programme by logging in to the elfh Hub, selecting My Account > Enrolment and selecting the programme. You can then access the programme immediately in the My elearning section.
To view the Wound Care Education for the Health and Care Workforce programme, select the View button below. If you already have an account with elfh, you will also be able to login and enrol on the programme from the View button.
Registering large numbers of users
If you are a HR, IT or Practice Manager and would like to register and enrol large numbers of staff within your organisation for access onto the Wound Care Education for the Health and Care Workforce programme, please contact elfh directly.
Organisations wishing to use their own LMS
For HR departments wanting to know more about gaining access to courses using an existing Learning Management System please contact elfh directly to express interest.
More information
Please select the following link for more information on how to use the elfh Hub.