PROFESSOR Sue Bale was part of the original team that established a unique wound healing service in Cardiff that has rightly earned an international reputation. The Wound Healing Research Unit was one of the first centres in the world dedicated to the advancement of wound care. Sue’s contribution to the unit helped to establish the role of wound care nurse researchers at an early stage, and has acted as an inspiration and catalyst for other nurses in the UK. More than this, she was responsible for guiding and developing a team of nurses into research, clinical and managerial roles, providing them with an excellent role model to follow.

Her colleagues believe that very few practitioners have made as significant a contribution to wound healing at such a high and sustained level as Sue. They consider that her leadership is a positive example, and inspiration to nurses in the UK and abroad.

Early in her career she rose to the challenge of improving the knowledge and practice in wound healing at a time when the field was in its infancy. She soon became a leading light in this highly specialist area of nursing, and continues to operate at the cutting edge of wound care. Specialists and nurses regard Sue’s publications as vital sources of information for their practice and new treatments.

Sue’s job as Director of Nursing Research at the Wound Healing Research Unit, based in the University of Wales College of Medicine in Cardiff, placed her at the forefront of wound healing practice today. Through her work with international associations she continues to push forward the boundaries of professional development, ensuring the success of wound healing and guaranteeing that her work is always relevant to health practitioners in the field. During her twenty-year career, Sue has been instrumental in establishing several wound healing societies – the Wound Care Society, the European Wound Management Association and the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel. Working closely with colleagues across health care professions, she has been able to put nursing at the top table of European organisations. It is a testament to her pioneering spirit and professional leadership that today both European societies have an active nursing membership with nurses in leading roles.

Sue has received global recognition for her work speaking at, and organising, national and international conferences
as well as writing textbooks. She has produced a large body of published work that ranges from over a dozen books,
to well over 100 peer-reviewed articles, videos and CDs. She has for some years judged the Nursing Standard Nurse of the Year Awards as a specialist judge.

For her outstanding contribution to nursing research, development and practice of wound care in the UK and internationally, RCN Council confers Fellowship of the Royal College of Nursing on Sue Bale.