Chronic wounds are high on the healthcare agendas across the globe, but should they be even higher? The NHS in the UK spends a total of £5bn per year treating chronic wounds (Campbell, 2019) and there are an estimated 2.2mn people currently living with non-healing wounds in the UK (Guest et al, 2015). Untreated chronic wounds are a leading cause of limb amputation (Umali, 2019). A confluence of an ageing population, a growing obesity problem and rising number of people with diabetes (these individuals are at a greater risk of developing a chronic wound) has given rise to a growing number of chronic wounds in the UK. Older age, diabetes and obesity can prevent wound healing, as well as smoking, infection and poor diet.
