Managing chronic oedema has a significant impact on NHS resources, especially in the primary care setting. As services continue to focus on care closer to home, and the population continues to age, this is only going to create more challenges for primary care teams in terms of resources, managing complex conditions and supporting older people in their own homes. Primary healthcare professionals come across older adults with chronic oedema more frequently than other healthcare professionals, and often have no formal training in the management of the complexities of the condition. Adapting to meet the growing needs of this patient group will require a change to current thinking and practice. This article discusses the management of chronic oedema and how using current evidence relating to inelastic compression devices can aid practitioners to be more efficient and effective in meeting these challenges, i.e. managing patients with chronic oedema and compression therapy, and provides case studies to support the use of these devices in primary care.
