The cost of chronic wounds in Australia is estimated to be $3 Billion per year, impacting 420,000 Australians. Not only is this a national economic concern, but more importantly, is the suffering the person may be going through.
Australian Health Journal met with Hayley Ryan, Board Director and Chair at Wounds Australia and Director at WoundRescue to hear her work in chronic wound management, palliative wounds and pressure injury prevention to comfort those living with a wound.
Hayley has over 22 years’ experience in nursing and has 18 of these in wound care during this time. Hayley has a passion for healing wounds as a Clinical Nurse Consultant across Australia and New Zealand.
She gave testimony at the Royal Commission into Aged Care in July 2019, through the Wounds Australia’s submission, on several topics including: wound care statistics, the causes of wounds, prevention of wounds, the use of appropriate wound dressings, substandard wound care, and recommendations to improve wound management within aged care.
In this interview Hayley talks about how she first got interested in wound management before talking through the current issues with wound management in the Australian health system. These issues include access, education and awareness as a health priority.
Hayley also talks about Wounds Australia’s 11 Point Plan. It has been produced to be a clear and effective blueprint for governments to follow. The plan draws on the knowledge and skills of Australia’s top wound care experts to dramatically cut patient numbers and the funds to treat them.
There is a goal in handling the complications of delivering treatment across primary care, community care, hospital and aged care settings turning into a more defined and streamlined process.
In terms of growth in specialist wound care knowledge in health workers, Hayley talks about the education and training pathways health care professionals can take, including through Wounds Australia, Monash University and Wound Rescue.
-
Implementing improvements in referral management and demand
Nalani Cox joined Gold Coast Health in 2019 as a Nurse Manager focused on improving referral management processes within the outpatient environment through the implementation of the Clinical Prioritisation Criteria. This work became a focus point for the organisation in 2020 when Nalani led an organisational wide change project introducing Smart Referrals, Refer Your Patient website and HealthPathways which has culminated in her position as the ADON of the Referral Strategy and Performance Department.
-
Emerging researcher appointed to James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW
The UNSW Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health is widely renowned as the pre-eminent psychiatry research department in the country and one of the leading university psychiatry research groups internationally. In 2023 it celebrated 60 Years of Psychiatry & Mental Health at UNSW Sydney.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Kimberlie Dean, Head of the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health at UNSW Sydney, about the recent appointment of mental health disorders expert and clinician researcher Dr Aswin Ratheesh to lead the James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW Sydney. -
Elevating Professional Standards in the Medtech and Pharmaceutical Sector
ARCS Australia Ltd, the peak body representing professionals in the MedTech and Pharmaceutical sector, this week announced a series of significant changes at its annual conference.
Dr Tim Boyle, CEO of ARCS Australia Ltd speaking to Australian Health Journal says, “These initiatives are central to strategy to build professionalism within the sector, increase capability and enhance the professional standing of its members.”
