At Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital the practice has been used for several years by podiatrists treating foot wounds, particularly diabetic patients suffering with foot ulcers.

Reporter Richard Long takes a closer look at this alternative therapy and how it is being used in West Norfolk.

THE common assumption with maggots is that they are nothing more than filthy bugs used by fishermen in their quest to land their next big catch.

But the small larvae have hidden talents that spread far beyond the river bank.

For centuries maggots were used by physicians in the treatment of wounds but their use declined rapidly following the introduction of antibiotics in the 1940s.

The therapy is now enjoying a revival as knowledge about the health benefits maggots provide increasingly comes to light.

Conventional treatment for wounds such as leg ulcers, wounds associated with diabetes and pressure ulcers can take months to achieve a successful outcome but maggot therapy can involve just one or two treatments, each lasting a maximum of five days.

Evidence also suggests they can be successful in combating the hospital super-bug MRSA.

The maggots remove dead tissue, combat infection and can promote regeneration of healthy tissue, bringing about wound healing.

At Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital maggot therapy is already being used by the podiatry department, particularly in relation to diabetic patients suffering with foot ulcers.

Suzanna Grimes, lead podiatrist for diabetes in West Norfolk, who is based at the QEH, said the prevalence of foot ulcers in the diabetic population is around five to seven per cent and is one of the most common reasons why a patient with the condition is admitted to hospital.

She told the Lynn News: "Fifteen per cent of ulcers go on to amputations so we need to make sure patients have the best chance they can. That is why we are pleased to be involved in such an innovative product.

"It would not be the first line of treatment but for patients the major benefit is it gets to the dead tissue very quickly, much more quickly than other treatments such as jelly dressing or scalpels."

While acknowledging the health benefits of the therapy she admits talk of maggots can lead to some reservations.

Mrs Grimes said: "Usually it is not the clinicians who need talking round but the patients, it does have a yuck factor.

"It can be a last ditch attempt but they (patients) are quite pleased in a way for there to be another option for them to explore.

"Most get over that yuck factor and when they have the treatment they say it is nothing like they imagined.

"They are so tiny, it is like tiny threads of cotton, not huge great maggots. They come in sterile containers and are meticulously clean.
They are designed and bred for wounds."

The maggots are enclosed within a netting – so there is no risk of escape – and are held over the wound for a period of three to four days.

Mrs Grimes said: "Even if they are left for seven days the environment is not right for them to move on to the next stage of the life cycle, they would die and there is no chance they could develop from there.

"What the maggots can achieve in five days could probably take weeks and weeks with conventional treatments. There are massive clinical benefits to the patient and there are potential financial savings for the NHS as well.

"At the moment there are only a certain number of patients we would say are suitable for this.

"But in the future we would like to see it rolled out in the community so those not in hospital can access the treatment."

The maggots are supplied by ZooBiotic – one of the UK's first NHS spin-out businesses.

With demand for the therapy continuing to rise the company has now appointed a specialist clinician to support healthcare professionals involved in treating patients with maggots.

Clinical nurse adviser Jane Parker (38), a former North Lynn resident who worked at the QEH, Sandringham Hospital and Gayton Road Health Centre, in Gaywood, has filled the role.

She told the Lynn News: "I give them the background on how the maggots work then train the nurses on how to apply the therapy.

"There has been a huge upsurge in patients requesting treatment with maggots, as the word has spread about how effective they are. Demand is particularly high since the maggots now come in a specialised dressing.

"Maggots have been used effectively in wound treatment for hundreds of years, but now that they are of medicinal quality and produced in a pharmaceutical clean room, then applied to the patient in a dressing they cannot escape from, they are much more user-friendly in a modern society."