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Nursing and Wound Care Wound care at the Wesley Centre for Hyperbaric Medicine is a major part of the treatment that many of our patients receive. Most wounds are of a chronic nature being of diabetic, arterial or venous origin. Acute wounds, where the blood supply has been compromised in some way, are also treated.
A comprehensive approach to healing any wound is essential. Hyperbaric oxygen alone is unlikely to provide good results for those clients referred with chronic wounds so in addition to HBO treatments, a program of intensive wound care is instituted involving meticulous repetitive debridements and careful attention to dressing product selection.
Debridement is particularly important, especially in chronic wounds. Any other barriers to healing such as clinically significant infection and poor diabetic control are simultaneously addressed.
The introduction of an optimum wound care program often involves practitioners from a variety of disciplines including endocrinology, infectious diseases, general practice, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery, podiatry and wound care nursing. The hyperbaric unit is an ideal focus for coordination of multidisciplinary care and maintenance of continuity.
As patients are seen daily for their hyperbaric oxygen treatment anyway, the hyperbaric unit is an ideal focus for coordination of multidisciplinary care and maintenance of continuity. A wound review is usually done around the second or third week of treatment. If no response is apparent then HBO treatment is stopped. If the wound is responding then treatment is continued. Responding patients undergo an average of 30 treatments. Wounds are not always treated to complete healing. Most often the aim is to normalise the body's own healing processes and then to maintain good wound care until healing is achieved. Hyperbaric treatments are safe, almost invariably free of significant complications, and well tolerated by most patients. Patients who are well into their 90s have been treated at the Wesley Centre for Hyperbaric Medicine. The Centre's staff has many years experience in this specialised field. We are committed to providing excellence in hyperbaric medicine and wound care. Initial training and a personal commitment to on-going, advanced training is paramount for all our staff.
The staff in this area are Registered Nurses who have a special interest in wound care and who are able to draw on their backgrounds which are in plastic surgery, general surgery, education, G.P practice and community care. Jan and Marcia have now been working at the centre for five years, Jan mostly in the outpatient area whilst Marcia works more with the inpatients. They are joined by Helen (who has been at the centre for six years) and Jen whilst a more recent addition brings with her a wealth of nursing experience. Helen also works as a Nursing Educator at the University of Southern Qld.
All staff regularly up-date their skills at conferences and courses. Marcia recently won an Advanced Wound Management Scholarship with Hartmann's Australia and this resulted her case history being published in a peer journal as well as her attending an advanced course in wound management. Jan also has recently completed a Grad Certificate in Wound Management. Together they work to achieve the optimal outcomes for their patients. |
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