"Now is the time" for nurse-led wound care models, ACN says

Chronic wounds cost the economy billions of dollars and affect nearly half a million Australians. 1–7 September is Wound Awareness Week; led by Wounds Australia, it is an opportunity to raise awareness of chronic wounds. The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) has marked Wound Awareness Week with a message to the Australian Government: now is the time for nurse-led wound care models.

Nurses, ACN said, despite being the healthcare profession expert in chronic wound care, cannot access Medicare rebates for wound care independently of a GP. This is something that ACN said “stymies the development of nurse-led wound care — a model of care that is holistic and accessible”.

“Nurses are the healthcare profession that spends the most time directly caring for people with chronic wounds,” ACN CEO Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz FACN said. “In hospitals and in primary care settings, nurses — such as wound clinical nurse consultants — often take lead responsibility in the multidisciplinary team for managing ongoing wounds, such as venous or arterial leg ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers, and pressure injuries.”

In a statement this week, ACN pointed to the multidisciplinary Expert Advisory Committee for the Scope of Practice Review that had reported to the Australian Government last year. In its report, ACN said the committee called for reforms to enable innovative models of care to flourish. Now, ACN has urged the federal government to act on the ‘scope of practice’ recommendations as soon as possible.

“We applaud the government for the introduction of the Chronic Wound Consumables Scheme, which covers the full cost of dressings and associated items for eligible people,” Zeitz said. “The government’s commitment to advancing wound care expertise is further shown by funding ACN to deliver wound care scholarships to nurses and Aboriginal Health Workers.

“But now is the time to take the next step and enable the establishment of nurse-led wound care models to provide the essential holistic care that is lacking for people with chronic wounds,” Zeitz said. “Nurses know that chronic wounds run more than skin deep. They can affect every facet of a person’s life.

“We can do much better for our population experiencing this debilitating condition and provide the holistic support they need to put non-healing wounds on the right track.” Zeitz concluded: “ACN is looking forward to a day when more nurses can run their own wound care clinics, to not only provide access to specialist chronic wound support to people, but to raise the visibility of this issue within the health sector and in the community.”

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