Wound care and management is a large and important part of healthcare services. Unfortunately, many patients from low income groups face obstacles in accessing the treatment needed.
According to Dr Harikrishna K.R. Nair Founding President of the Malaysian Society of Wound Care Professionals (MSWCP), there are many hidden costs, besides hospital fees. “The caregiver needs to take time off work and some patients can only be transported by car or ambulance, for instance.”
“COVID-19 has taught us that decentralisation of medical services helps,” he explains. And so, MSWCP’s trained nurses and matrons, medical officers and assistants as well as doctors provide wound care in patients’ homes. Those from B40 households, geriatric patients and non-ambulatory cases qualify.
Based on the well-entrenched principle of “healing the whole patient and not just the hole in the patient” the Home Nursing Programme is a personalised, holistic and comprehensive approach as not only are patients more comfortable but also exhibit less signs of stress often associated with white coat syndrome.
Additionally, the use of innovation such as silver and collagen for wound healing and more absorbent material reduces both healing time and frequency of dressing sessions.
Dr Hari says the Hasanah Special Grant enabled WSWCP to increase the number of patients cared for, adding that “the key performance indicators kept us on our toes and our standards of care high,” — a win-win all around.
Through 1,800 free sessions 20% of patientswere fully healed andthe rest displayed high percentage of new granulation tissue and wound area reduction, indicating high healing potential.
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