Wound bed preparation: a systematic approach to chronic wounds.

'Wound bed preparation' is a current 'buzz phrase' in tissue viability and chronic wound management, but the majority of practitioners are uncertain what it actually means. This article summarizes the content of a series of study days recently given around the UK by a panel of experts in wound management. It discusses the meaning of the phrase 'wound bed preparation' and offers an acronym - TIME - that practitioners may find useful in their daily treatment of chronic wounds.