It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way: Legs Matter Awareness Week

An estimated 3.8 million people in the UK are living with a wound that requires NHS management such as leg ulcers, not because nothing can be done, but because best practice isn’t being consistently applied.¹ That’s exactly the problem Legs Matter exists to fix. And it’s why we’re proud to be supporting them.

📅 Legs Matter Week 2026: 8–12 June 2026

This year’s Legs Matter Week runs from 8–12 June, bringing together patients, healthcare professionals, and system leaders around one powerful message: “It doesn’t have to be this way.” As a proud new partner of the Legs Matter coalition, Convatec is amplifying that message throughout the week and beyond.

The scale of the problem

Lower leg wounds are one of the UK’s most significant health challenges. 37% of the 3.8 million people with wounds requiring NHS care have leg or foot ulcers. The total estimated costs for treating the 3.8 million wounds is over £8 billion.¹ The burden is rising as populations age and rates of diabetes and obesity increase.

Despite the evidence available on best practice treatment, the National Wound Care Strategy Programme (NWCSP) has highlighted that large numbers of patients with lower limb ulceration are not receiving appropriate assessment and treatment.² This means many people living with these wounds are not getting the care that could help them heal.

Leg ulcers are five times more common than pressure ulcers, yet care is often inappropriate or delivered too slowly, causing delays to patient healing and an impact on the quality of life.¹

Who are Legs Matter?

The Legs Matter coalition is working together to increase awareness, understanding and prevent harm for lower leg and foot conditions. Their aim is to increase awareness, understanding and action on lower leg and foot conditions.

The coalition works together to prevent harm for people with lower leg and foot conditions, driven by the belief that insufficient action in this area is causing real, avoidable damage to patients.³

This year, Legs Matter Week carries a message that focuses on a call to action for everyone involved in wound care, from patients, to HCPs to system leaders:

“It doesn’t have to be this way.”

Three audiences. One message.

The Legs Matter campaign speaks directly to three groups, each with their own stake in getting this right.

For patients: You have the right to better care. Too many people accept prolonged pain, repeated dressing changes, and slow-healing wounds as inevitable. When best practice guidelines are followed, outcomes improve significantly. Data from NHS implementation sites showed that 52% of venous leg ulcers healed within 12 weeks, with an overall healing rate of 84% at 52 weeks⁴ (for all lower limb wounds), results that are achievable when the right pathways are in place.

For healthcare professionals: There’s a better way to work. The NWCSP has developed a Leg Ulcer Best Practice Bundle, informed by evidence-based practice and learning from implementation sites across NHS England, giving clinicians a clear, structured framework to follow. When HCPs are equipped with the right tools, knowledge and products, they can support with a better patient experience.

For system and finance leaders: We are wasting resource by not fixing this. The NWCSP’s business case for implementing lower limb recommendations projected a net present value of £14.6 billion over 30 years through a 30% reduction in leg ulcer prevalence, alongside an estimated £7.8 billion in net cash-releasing savings.⁵ Early implementation data also demonstrated a benefit-cost ratio of 27.6, indicating exceptionally strong value for money.⁴ 

Wound care that supports best practice

The guidelines and pathways that Legs Matter champions align directly with the kind of evidence-based care our products are designed to support.

Central to our approach is the Wound Hygiene protocol, a four-step intervention that addresses one of the most significant barriers to wound healing: biofilm.⁶

Wound Hygiene is a simple, four step protocol, developed to address the problem of biofilm in hard-to-heal wounds. It comprised of cleansing, debridement, refashioning and the selection of an appropriate antimicrobial dressing.

You can explore our full range of Wound Hygiene clinical resources to support implementation in your practice. We also have a dedicated team of Clinical Strategy Managers to support with training and guidance.

What this partnership means

Becoming a partner of Legs Matter means we are actively supporting the campaign through awareness, education, and advocacy for consistent implementation of best practice guidelines.

Everyone has the right to good-quality lower leg and foot care that promotes healing and reduces the risk of harm.³

Because, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Join us as we support Legs Matter Week, 8–12 June

Follow our social channels throughout the week for clinical insights, patient stories to support best-practice lower limb care. Use the hashtag #LegsMatterWeek and tag @LegsMatter to join the conversation.