Although the nursing team will predominately manage your care, there are other members of the heath care team that may help, support and deliver important parts of your treatment.
We call this the Multi Disciplinary Team or MDT for short, but for you what this means is there are many specialist teams on hand to help provide the care you need. With you in the centre the NHS has a core team providing your everyday care supported by an extended team to help deliver what's needed to get you back on track.
The core team compliments your Community and Practice Nurses that may provide the majority of your care. These include the GP’s who could help with referrals to other specialists, and prescribe the treatment the nurses need to help you. Other members of this team may include Tissue Viability Nurses who specialise in wound care and Vascular Teams who have a lot of knowledge and expertise in managing problems with circulation.
The extended team may help manage other conditions you could have, that can affect wound healing and your ability to get better. These important teams often help support and manage conditions such as diabetes, nutrition and diet.
Although there are many teams involved and lots of expertise available, there is one vital part that is missing from this list…you. When possible, nurses may try really hard to help you take some responsibility for your care. I always say you cannot embrace what you don’t understand, so by providing you with support and the suitable level of education, we will encourage you to take part in your own health care.
Find out more about self care and engaging with your condition and treatment.
Meet the healthcare team
This blog post has been written by Director of Lower Limb Consultancy Services Ltd, and Honorary Tissue Viability Clinical Nurse Specialist, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust, Andy Kerr.
If you think you may be experiencing leg and foot problems please speak to your GP or nurse as soon as possible.
