Interprofessional Approaches to Non-Complex Wound Care in a Welsh Residential Home for Older People

Abstract

Care services in Wales are facing the dual challenges of increasing demand and decreasing resources so in 2014, the Welsh Government set aside a national Intermediate Care Fund. Llys y Bryn residential home for older people in south west Wales was identified as a pilot site to develop interprofessional management of non-complex wound care between care home staff providing direct care to the elderly residents and district nurses in the community. There were two distinct elements to the rapid evaluation, essentially focussing on non-financial and financial benefits of the project. These were collected via a semi-structured interview and cost saving analysis respectively. The project was well received by all stakeholders and it sought to improve the quality of life for the residents in the home. The financial elements proved challenging to estimate with certainty but even by conservative estimates, there may be a financial return on investment after six months at the care home. More research is needed so as to build up an evidence-base to support possible expansion of the project and to underpin national policy on service integration between health and social care.