At Urgo Medical, we are extremely lucky to have a large clinical team who offer a wealth of knowledge and experience in wound care.
Meet one of our clinical specialists, Polly Cox.
‘I started my adventure into nursing 30 years ago at the Frances Harrison School of Nursing in Guildford. As a student nurse I enjoyed working on the surgical wards where I saw patients be admitted with a problem, fixed by surgery and then supported by us through to recovery and discharge home. However, my favourite placements were with the District Nurses where caring for patients was a very different environment to that of a hospital and, as nurses, we were guests in their homes. I loved that I got to know patients over a long period of time and was involved in the continuity of their care.
I started my nursing career on a gynaecology and urology ward in Chertsey, Surrey and then moved to Bristol to work on a gastrointestinal and colorectal surgical ward at Southmead Hospital. This was where I was under the guidance of Ward Sister Judy Vickery who was strict and had firm routines which even the patients quickly adapted to. She taught me excellent nursing practice that has remained with me for my whole career. In 2000 I achieved my goal of becoming a District Nurse and 2 years later completed my degree and specialist qualification in District Nursing. Wound care has always been my passion; I love being presented with a complex wound and working with the patient and multi-disciplinary team to improve the symptoms of the wound and move it towards healing. I still get a buzz when I review a difficult-to-manage wound and see the improvements my work has made. I knew wound care was the direction that I wanted my career to go in and whilst working as a District Nurse Team Manager I was lucky enough to be part of the team which set up the first Lindsay Leg Club in our area. This was an invaluable experience which allowed me to work with the local community to support patients in an alternative way to primary care. It reignited my desire to become a specialist in lower limb and wound care so I went on to work as clinical lead for the Complex Leg Wound Service in Gloucestershire, and then as Tissue Viability Lead Nurse in Bristol, before joining Urgo Medical last year.
For me, nursing is a privilege. We see people at their most vulnerable times and have the honour of building a relationship with them to support them through this. We treat patients holistically and work together with many colleagues of different professionals to try to get the best outcomes. It’s the little things that we do as nurses that often have the most impact for our patients, such as washing their legs when they have been in wet dressings and bandages, or just taking the time to listen to their life stories or concerns. I can’t believe that I have been a nurse now for 30 years and I never stopped learning and developing as a practitioner.’
Polly Cox, Clinical Specialist