People with leg ulceration are predominantly treated in a community setting either in their own home, a clinic or a general practice surgery. Access to high quality, effective care is vital for timely healing. This article will consider aspects of the National Health Service quality agenda and how these align to leg ulcer care using national venous leg ulcer guidelines as a framework. The purpose of this is to prompt both practitioners and managers to consider the current provision of leg ulcer care and how this might stand up to scrutiny from a quality perspective.

Irene Anderson reader in Learning and Teaching in Healthcare Practice, and Programme Tutor, Tissue Viability, University of Hertfordshire.

Article accepted for publication: May 2012