Wound management

The Wound management strategy at Peter Cosgrove House is managed by a specialist wound care clinician, providing a best practice, whole-of-organisation approach to resident wound prevention, treatment and management.

The approach involves:

• consultancy with professional staff on wound etiology and treatments
• staff inservice on wound care and skin maintenance
• individually designed treatments for specific wound and conditions affecting the skin.

The ongoing process of delivering and evaluating better wound care management ensure that registered nurses, enrolled nurses and care staff have access to and skills in implementing best practice wound care for residents at Peter Cosgrove House.

At Peter Cosgrove House a regime is in place that after three dressing changes by an enrolled nurse, a registered nurse who is competent and able to plan wound treatment in compliance with best practice, need to review the wound.

In order to establish effective practice across all care areas, Peter Cosgrove House has:

• developed an easy-to-read wound care manual as a reference and inspiration to those dressing the wound
• established a wound clinic where residents can be assessed and treated.

The wound clinic contains a wound library with resources and information kept up-to-date by the specialist.

The Wound management program endorses the belief that if staff identify wounds early and know what to do they are more likely to be able to dress the wound correctly and thereby accelerating the process of healing for a better quality of care for residents. 

In many instances an informed, competent carer is able to dress simple wounds as a part of assisting with personal hygiene while enrolled nurses attend to more complicated wounds under the supervision of registered nurses.