The Leg Club Approach

Home visits by community nurses do not address the social and psychological needs of these patients.

Following research into the particular problems faced by this client group, Ellie Lindsay set up Debenham Leg Club in 1995 to provide leg ulcer management in a social, non-medical setting, where patients are treated collectively and the emphasis is on social interaction, participation, empathy and peer support.

This social model was conceived as a unique partnership between the district nurses and the local community, in which patients are empowered, through a sense of ownership, to become stakeholders in their own treatment.

Clinics are held weekly in a community cottage, on an informal ‘drop in’ basis and patient contacts average 1,200 per annum, 40% for treatment, the balance for assessment, monitoring and advice.