BJN Awards 2019: chronic oedema nurse of the year runner up

My role as a chronic oedema liaison nurse (COLN) developed as part of a service development project, jointly funded by the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and the local commissioning group. My work in a multidisciplinary team alongside Pippa McCabe (lymphoedema clinical lead) and Susan Patterson (pharmacy adviser to the Health and Social Care Board) has proved that early identification and management of simple oedema and early venous disease is cost-effective and has quality-of-life benefits to individuals suffering from the symptoms.

The project aimed to explore new ways to improve the ongoing management and review of patients with simple leg oedema, developing a model of care that has been rolled out to GP practices within the South Eastern Trust in Northern Ireland since 2018. This exciting and innovative project has fundamental benefits, ultimately reducing the pressure on specialist tissue viability nurses (TVNs), lymphoedema services, and treatment room nurses. In doing so, this will prevent the development of complications secondary to chronic leg oedema, such as cellulitis and onward vascular referrals.