Programme 2021

Julie has worked as a Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant for the last 3 years and prior to this as a Tissue Viability Nurse (TVN), working as an advanced, autonomous practitioner, managing complex patients with tissue viability related issues and providing expert knowledge. For the last 10 years she has worked in the acute sector and the 7 years prior to this, as a community TVN. This has enabled Julie to experience different environments and associated challenges within Tissue Viability in these different care settings.

Julie has completed an honours degree in Healthcare Practice with Specialist Practitioner Qualification in Tissue Viability and an MSc in Professional Clinical Practice. She works to continuously develop the service to ensure improvements in patient care and continuous high-quality care. Julie has written and published several articles relating to pressure and moisture associated skin damage, and skin under PPE!

Twitter: @TV_LHCH

Louise commenced her training at Guys Hospital in 1991 and subsequently qualified in 1994. She has worked in acute surgical and orthopaedic settings before finally finding her passion for all things Tissue Viability in 2001. Setting up the service in Croydon University Hospital in 2001 until 2006 where she moved to her current place of work Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Louise’s passion is to reduce patient harms especially those caused in hospital. Patient safety is everyone’s responsibility and should be treated with the utmost respect.

Louise is continuing to finish her MSc in advanced practice (Leadership) at Kings.

Most recently Louise was re-deployed to the intensive care unit at St Mary’s during the second pandemic which was a valuable and eye-opening experience.

In her spare time Louise enjoys camping in North Devon with her three children.

Sylvie has been involved in wound care for nearly 30 years. She owned and ran the Wound Healing Centre in Eastbourne over many years and is now acting as an independent tissue viability specialist.

Fiona Downie is a senior lecturer in tissue viability at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. She recently retired from her clinical post of nurse consultant in Tissue Viability in an acute cardiothoracic hospital. Her interest in tissue viability has a 25 year history. Her particular interests are in acute wounds that fail to heal, and the influence of bioburden in wound healing. In addition, she is especially interested in: SSI surveillance; pressure ulcer risk assessment /classification. She has completed an MSc in wound healing and tissue repair from the medical school, Cardiff University, Wales. Her research study, whilst undertaking her MSc, looked at nurses’ and doctors’ knowledge in relation to the practice of wound swabbing. She has completed a Post Grad Certificate in Education, gaining a distinction for this. In addition, Fiona was awarded a Chief Nurse of England’s Gold award for services to preventing pressure ulcers and for her contribution to education in tissue viability.

Alison has 20 years of experience working in the NHS as a nurse in Bradford and North Lincolnshire. With a background of district nursing and Tissue viability, she has a great understanding of delivering care to patients in their own homes and residential and nursing homes. Alison set up and led a pressure ulcer prevention team in Bradford community trust which was a great achievement.

Alison worked in North Lincolnshire leading the Tissue viability service for over 4 years, introducing new clinical pathways and educational programmes to improve patient outcomes, working across all settings including acute, community and primary care. A highlight was when she was selected as a finalist in the HSJ Awards for 'Best educational programme in the NHS' in 2020.

With a recent role change as clinical manager for Mole digital Alison has an exciting opportunity to produce and deliver fantastic evidence-based education to health care professionals and patients whilst retaining a clinical TVN honorary post at York Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Una is a Registered Nurse, District Nurse, Queen’s Nurse and former tissue viability specialist nurse and Tissue Viability Society trustee. Una has been involved in tissue viability clinical practice, education and research for over 20 years. In that time, she has worked to increase knowledge and understanding about evidence-informed wound care in a wide variety of ways. This has included teaching undergraduate and post graduate nurses, contributing to a range of wound care research studies, researching judgement and decision making for wound care and campaigning to raise the profile of wound care. She has published widely on wound care, particularly in relation to leg ulceration. Una is now the Director of the National Wound Care Strategy Programme for NHS England.

Angela has worked in NHS podiatry for 29 years. Over this time, podiatry has changed dramatically in the nature and scope of its practice. 

For Angela, an initial interest in diabetes care developed and as caseload demands increased this became a specialism in high risk patients with a particular focus on wounds on the lower limb; not just on wound management but on prevention too.

Angela leads and manages a team of high risk/ diabetes specialist podiatrists and works alongside community nurses, tissue viability and lymphoedema and in conjunction with diabetes and vascular teams in the acute setting.

Angela's post-graduate training and qualifications have been in diabetes, wound care, tissue viability and leadership and management. She gained a MSc in Health Sciences and is a non-medical prescriber.

Angela has had educational publications in various journals on wound care and wound management, along with case studies and product evaluations and has presented posters at national and international conferences. She represents podiatry on a regional wound care formulary group and the diabetic foot network. Angela is currently a Wound Care Ambassador for Wound Hygiene.