The clinical, professional and political importance of wounds has been increasingly recognised over the past 50 years. Another milestone in this process is the UK’s first National Wounds Day on 22nd June 2006. This is a major development, not only for the organisers of events to celebrate the day, but it also indicates how much more interest there is for the subject.

The changing demographic make-up of our society has led to increasing numbers of patients either with, or who are at risk of developing, wounds that have the potential to be difficult to heal. This, coupled with the recent increased interest in the modulation of the scarring process that may lead to improved cosmetic and functional results for patients who have surgical interventions, will lead to new clinical systems and structures being developed.