TAS | 30 Jan 2012
The Minister for Health, Michelle O’Byrne, today gave her support to a campaign highlighting the struggle some Australians have in accessing important wound healing treatment.
Ms O’Byrne met with the President of the Australian Wound Management Association, Dr Bill McGuiness, in Hobart today and was briefed on the significant burden wounds place on both an individual and the health system overall.
“Wounds can take several months and in some severe cases years to heal. Up to 70 per cent of the Department of Health’s community nursing time is spent on wound care and it’s the second most frequently billed item in general practice,” she said.
“This has huge implications for the health system, particularly so in Tasmania which has an ageing population – a group which commonly suffers from lower leg ulcerations.”
The Australian Wound Management Association is calling on the Commonwealth Government to encourage best practice in wound management by subsidising compression bandages and stockings.
As lower leg ulcers mainly affect the elderly, many patients are unable to afford the treatment which significantly aids in healing.
Ms O’Byrne said that she would join in efforts to lobby the Commonwealth Government to make the treatment more affordable.
“People with multiple medical problems, like many Tasmanians, find it difficult for their wounds to heal.
“They end up in the treatment line at GPs, community nursing clinics and even at hospitals, all which has a flow on effect for our health system in general.
“We want Tasmanians to have a speedy recovery from whatever medical condition they are suffering from and if compression bandages help in that process we need to do what we can to make them easier to access,” Ms O’Byrne said.
