Despite the challenges of COVID19 during 2021 Laura Mattocks, Project Lead for Wound Management, NNSWLHD still felt the year held many highlights.
“Even with redeployments and other work requests interrupting project work there was still a lot of progress made.”
Wound management is provided across all care settings in NSW. The Leading Better Value Care (LBVC) chronic wound management initiative focus is to improve the management of wounds that do not heal in a timely manner. These are classed as chronic wounds. They include skin tears, pressure injuries, autoimmune/dermatological conditions, diabetic foot ulceration, compromised surgical wounds and leg ulcers.
Many patients with a chronic wound are debilitated, immobile and in pain and they feel isolated and self-conscious. These factors impact their employment, relationships and daily life.
Costs associated with treating chronic wounds are significant for patients and for the system. Treating chronic wounds in emergency, admitted and non-admitted settings are expected to cost $3 billion over the next ten years.
More information can be found on the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) website.
Some of Laura’s highlights for the NNSWLHD Wound Management project include the following:
- Completion of an all of NNSWLHD Wound management Diagnostic process which saw more than 200 staff from within the LHD and primary care services given opportunity to have their say on the issues
- Working with Michelle Culhane (CNC Diabetes) & N&M Directorate to develop a generic Resource Nurse framework to be rolled out in 2022. This will support interested clinicians to develop wound management skills and knowledge & will be accessible to all nursing clinicians across NNSWLHD
- Integrated care providing project funding for a 6 month project position which commenced in November & will see the installation of secure & centralised wound banks at acute facilities across the LHD as well as a focus on clinical product standardisation more generally, and will provide education to staff on correct purchasing and product selection practices. It is anticipated this project will result in significant savings for NNSWLHD
- Commenced work on a draft LHD Wound management model of care that will have a multi-disciplinary approach and wide reach across NNSWLHD – including Primary care services & RACFs
Plans for 2022
- Continue to work on progressing a multi-disciplinary wound management model of care for NSNWLHD
- Work with the N&M Directorate to further develop an education framework for wound management across NNSWLHD
- Continue to work with our partners including Health North Coast with the Primary Care Advisory Group to further explore with GPs opportunities to improve wound management and standardise practice
- Work with NNSWLHD Procurement services to implement the NSW Health wound product formulary across NNSWLHD & further standardise purchasing
- Follow-up audit at sites to assess effectiveness of wound bank implementation & standardised purchasing of specialised wound products