Collaborating with general practice on wound care in Northern NSW

June 2022 edition : Leading Better Value Care

In 2020, the district started implementing the Leading Better Value Care (LBVC) Wound Standards. 

Wounds occur in every service, impact every directorate and extend into the community. Clinicians are frequently co‑managing wounds with General Practitioners (GPs), Residential Aged Care Facilities and other community based services.

Case for change

Northern NSW worked with local GPs to identify issues and opportunities for improving wound management across their district. Three key issues were identified:

1. Specialised wound products – includes access and cost for general practices, lack of product standardisation and clinician education.
2. Wound management education – includes access and cost for GPs/practice nurses and no standardisation of learning or clinical pathways to build skills and future experts.
3. Clinical experts – includes a widespread lack of wound management clinical experts.

Taking a value based healthcare approach

The district responded to these issues by creating a focus on wound product formularies and wound banks that help to:

• standardise products
• provide a platform for educating clinicians about product choice
• reduce spending and waste.

NSW Health's Wound Care Formulary will support Northern NSW Local Health District to:

• review and revise the Resource Nurse framework to create better governance and a focus on pathways to becoming a clinical expert
• create a wound management modular education pathway and resource hub that will be easily accessible for all local health district clinicians
• plan for recruitment to high level wound management clinical experts.

The goal is to develop a more standardised, cost effective and efficient approach to the delivery of best practice chronic wound management for patients and create clinical experts within general practice teams.