In spring 2010, a multidisciplinary group of clinicians met in London to discuss the issue of bacterial management in wound healing. The clinical world is currently facing a range of new challenges and health care is becoming increasingly intensive with ever-higher expectations of positive outcomes from both the healthcare industry and those it serves. As our understanding of the intricate balance between wound healing and the bio-community of organisms living within the wound expands, clinicians face new challenges in providing effective strategies to manage wound bioburden without inducing pathogen resistance and negatively influencing the healing process.