Latest News From Tissue Viability

Stephen Lloyd MP visited the Wound Healing Centre in Gildredge Road, Eastbourne last week. The purpose of Stephen’s visit was to see the work that the team of clinical specialists are doing to treat people with wounds that are not healing as they should. Some wounds having been present for many years.

The Eastbourne Wound Healing Centre specialises in the prevention and management of wounds and their healing rates are among the highest in the UK, something that Eastbourne can rightly be proud of.

The team includes nurses, who specialise in healing longstanding wounds and an occupational therapist, with expertise in the prevention and management of pressure as well as and a podiatrist who maintains foot health and prevents foot ulcers. The team have detailed knowledge and experience of wound dressings and therapies.

All types of wounds are treated, including:

• leg ulcers
• pressure damage
• non-healing surgical wounds
• burns
• cancerous wounds
• Pyoderma Gangrenosum
• pilonidal sinus
• distressing skin conditions

Stephen Lloyd said:
“It was a great pleasure to visit and to meet the team at the Wound Healing Centre. In this difficult economic climate I was very impressed with the potential of the wound healing centre, not only to improve the clinical outcomes in a challenging NHS environment, but also to realise significant cost savings.

Over the last few years, I have received a number of letters from local residents who have suffered with wounds over many years and have received successful treatment from the wound healing centre.

Successful companies like the wound healing centre are vital to the future of Eastbourne. Ill do everything I can to ensure their ongoing success”.

TVCS Ltd was 10 years old on 1 December 2009. To celebrate, it’s Directors – Fiona Collins and Sylvie Hampton hosted a Day at the Races at Lingfield Park Race course, inviting Staff, Business Associates, friends and family to help celebrate.

Sylvie Hampton and Fiona Collins at Lingfiled Park Racecourse

Nicole says – “Despite the fact I was disabled all my life and fight almost every day with problems, life had offered me from time to time a reward giving me the chance to meet wonderful people. First was Vicki Pearson and her charity – Romania Connect- who brought me here and now Fiona Collins from Tissue Viability Consultancy Services Ltd and Steve Betteley Southern Mobility. I could not ask for more commitment and dedication from them both and they manage to change me from a person who had to be indoors most of the time to somebody who is able now to be in wheelchair 7 – 8 hours everyday. I don’t want anybody to know what means to live having constantly in mind the risk of pressure sores and knowing that every minute in wheelchair will be later “paid” in months of healing in bed. There are not enough words to thanks to Invacare and Helping Hands who responded to Fiona’s request to help in this project and I’m more than grateful that this joint effort has such an amazing end. Without them I never could afford to have such a great wheelchair like the one I’m using now or the cushion who sent away the risk of pressure sores. My life is now totally changed in a positive way and I will always think with love and gratitude to the people and firms I mention above who made this dream come true.

Nicole Ionescu is smiling… because she’s just taken delivery of her new wheelchair and cushion! Nicole lives Romania, where she co-ordinates a small British registered charity, Romania Connect, which assists severely disabled people to live at home, provides financial sponsorship and specialist equipment.

Nicole suffered a spinal cord injury at birth and is paraplegic. Her posture in her wheelchair is so poor that she faces to the left, a situation that has prevented her from achieving a life long ambition – to learn to drive a car.

Vicki Pearson UK co-ordinator for Romania Connect approached Fiona Collins, an Occupational Therapist at Tissue Viability Consultancy Services based in Eastbourne. Fiona is an internationally renowned seating expert, whose patients come from all over the UK and abroad.

Fiona worked in collaboration with Steve Betteley at Southern Mobility, providing their services free of charge. Nicole urgently needed a special cushion and lightweight wheelchair. Using her industry contacts Fiona was able to obtain a bespoke Starlock cushion made by the Helping Hand Company and an Invacare XLT wheelchair, free of charge.

And the result? Nicole can now sit comfortably and supported. Crucially she is now able to sit facing fully forwards, which means that at last she will be able to learn to drive! Mission accomplished!

Fiona has now agreed to visit Romania to assess more of Romania Connect’s clients; her company Tissue Viability Consultancy Services is now fund raising to pay for her flights and accommodation.

Vicki Pearson – “Fiona and Steve are utterly amazing! I cannot believe the differences they have brought about. I can’t stop looking at Nicole in her new chair with it’s new cushion.”

Welcome to the new TVCS Ltd website. We have designed this new site to provide information to patients, healthcare professionals, PCTs and Companies within the Wound Care Management sector. We hope you find this site informative and easy to use. If you would like any further information on any of the services we provide please call us on 01323 735588, email us at info@tissueviability.org or contact us.

The Prove It conference will be held on 14th & 15th Sep 2010. This unique conference will be held at the University of Essex in Colchester. It is a great opportunity for everyone involved in wound care to debate the way forward in research & development of new products. Visit Prove It for all the information you will need to join us at this event

We have just launched our new podiatry service, within our Eastbourne clinic. Our Podiatrist, Richie Skinner, is newly qualified and is a diabetic foot specialist. Please see Podiatry Services for the all the treatments available and to book an appointment.