IT is estimated that annually the NHS treats over two million wounds at a cost of £5.3 billion and with tougher financial constraints being announced every year, there needs to be ongoing research to ensure the lack of finances doesn’t affect the quality of wound care available.
This was the topic of the opening lecture at the 3rd International Skin Integrity and Tissue Viability Conference hosted by the University of Huddersfield’s Institute of Skin Integrity and Infection Prevention (ISIaIP), in conjunction with the Journal of Wound Care.
The conference attracted 110 delegates from around the world and they listened to the former Head of Vascular Surgery at Bradford’s Royal Infirmary Professor Peter Vowden, as he gave the opening lecture entitled The Burden of Wound Care.
The recently retired wound care expert explained how wounds impose substantial health economic burden on the UK’s NHS.
He argued that it was comparable to that of managing obesity, which in 2012/2013 was valued at £5 billion. “Clinical and economic benefits would accrue from improved systems of care and an increased awareness of the impact that wounds impose on patients and the NHS”, said Professor Vowden … read more