Since its launch in 2001 the British Journal of Nursing Tissue Viability Supplement has sought to inform specialist practice in the UK. As its consultant editor I have been fortunate to work with very supportive colleagues at MA Healthcare and many enthusiastic authors and to all I offer my thanks and best wishes for the future. During this time we have seen a rapid increase in the number of nurse specialists in post, a new specialist conference Wounds-UK and the launch of a new specialist organization the Tissue Viability Nurses' Association (TVNA). As the new consultant editor of the supplement Alison Finnie indicates in her editorial, it is time for many more specialists to accept the challenge and play a more active role in developing specialist practice in the field of tissue viability. There is a need for consolidation in the field with each organization confirming its own role and specialists seeking to share and reflect on their practice so as to improve the clinical outcomes in the UK.