R23 Response Accepted

TVN training and qualification

Recommendation

Health Boards should ensure that a nurse appointed as Tissue Viability Nurse (TVN) is appropriately trained and possesses, or is working towards, a recognised specialist post-registration qualification.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- The Scottish Government published its response to the Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report on 18 June 2015, accepting all 75 recommendations and establishing an Implementation Group chaired by the Chief Nursing Officer (Scottish Government Response, June 2015).
- The Scottish Government's response indicated that accredited education programmes for specialist and advanced practice roles, including Tissue Viability Nurses, are available through Scottish higher education institutions and NHS Education for Scotland (NES).
- NMC standards for post-registration education and practice require specialist nurses to hold or be working towards recognised specialist qualifications. The NMC's revalidation process (from April 2016) requires continuing professional development relevant to the nurse's scope of practice.
- NHS Education for Scotland provides a framework for specialist and advanced nursing practice development, including tissue viability, wound care, and related specialisms.
Sources
NMC
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Scottish Government
18 Jun 2015

Section 4.3 of the Scottish Government's response indicates that accredited education programmes for specialist and advanced practice roles, including for Tissue Viability Nurses, are available through universities and funded by NHS boards. The government provided £1 million in March 2012 to support increased postgraduate education for the existing workforce. The 'Setting the Direction' action plan will ensure these education programmes for specialist roles continue to be available and accessible across Scotland.

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Published Evidence

Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Reasonable Progress
01 Jan 2025
Healthcare Improvement Scotland Other

Excellence in Care framework covers nursing specialist training requirements. NES provides specialist training pathways including tissue viability nursing through the Turas Learn platform.

View detailed findings

National education infrastructure supports specialist nurse training but no specific national TVN qualification requirement has been mandated.

Excellence in Care and NES specialist training View Source
Source
Inquiry Vale of Leven Inquiry
Report The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report 24 Nov 2014
View Source
Responsible Bodies
NHS Health Boards (Scotland) Primary
Themes & Tags
Staff training and development Unqualified Staff Deployment Nursing Tissue Viability Training
Recommendation age 11.5 yrs
Last formal update 4001 days ago