Here - EWMA 2013

ORAL PRESENTATIONS
1
Opening Session: Multidisciplinarity and Organisation of Care
A multidisciplinary approach – the light at the end of the tunnel
Zena Moore 1
1 Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Dublin, Ireland)
The World Health Organisation (2004) stresses the importance of multidisciplinary
approaches to patient care delivery in order to maximise health and social gain. In
wound care this is fundamentally important as no one profession has all the required
skills required to address the complex needs of patients with wounds (Gottrup et al.
2001). Indeed, lack of integrated care systems and functioning multidisciplinary teams
compounds the suffering of patients and increases demands on already overstretched
health budgets (Moore & Cowman 2005). Conversely, structured multidisciplinary
interventions, such as interdisciplinary collaboration and education, improve patient
outcomes and overall health service delivery (Apelqvist & Larsson 2000). EWMA
considers active collaboration and integrated working of all members of the
multidisciplinary team as central to success in wound management. As such, a main
objective of EWMA is to develop strategies for the development of multidisciplinary
treatment guidelines, with a specific focus on the dissemination, implementation and
evaluation of such guidelines. This presentation will provide an overview of the EWMA
strategy for a multidisciplinary approach and its associated project activities.
References: Apelqvist J & Larsson J (2000): What is the most effective way to reduce incidence of amputation in
the diabetic foot? Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews 16, S75-S83.
Gottrup F, Holstein P, Jorgensen B, Lohman M & Karlsmark T (2001): A new concept of a multidisciplinary wound
healing centre and national expert function of wound healing. Archives of Surgery 136, 765-772.
Moore Z & Cowman S (2005): The need for EU standards in wound care: an Irish survey. Wounds UK 1, 20-28.
World Health Organisation (2004) Patient safety. World Health Organisation, Geneva. Available at: http://www.
who.int/patientsafety/about/en/index.html (accessed 25/03/2013).
OPENING SESSION: MULTIDISCIPLINARITY AND ORGANISATION OF CARE
2
How we work multidisciplinary in Australia
Opening Session: Multidisciplinarity and Organisation of Care
William McGuiness 1
1 La Trobe University (Melbourne, Australia)
The need for multidisciplinary wound care is well documented within Australian literature
(Vu, Harris et al. 2007; Bergin, Gurr et al. 2012). Whilst the benefits to the patient are
evident the pragmatics of achieving multidisciplinary wound management within
Australian is challenging. Australian health care is funded by both State (local) and
Federal (national) governments. State governments predominately fund acute care
agencies; the Federal government fund the community sector. As a result wound
management services in Australia have developed two distinct methods of
multidisciplinary care.
Within the acute care setting some agencies provide wound management clinics. Each
clinic is staffed with varying forms of multidisciplinary teams often linked to the services
provided by the hospital. Access to multidisciplinary wound care teams for the patient is
therefore driven by ‘luck’ related to their geographic location than by specific need.
In the community sector patents access multidisciplinary care via a referral mechanism.
The ‘gate keeper’ for referrals is the local general medical practitioner (GP). For
example, a patient being managed by a community nurse requires a review by a
vascular surgeon. The nurse would first refer the patient to the local GP who would then
decide if a referral to the vascular surgeon was warranted and if so refer on. At best the
community referral system results in lengthy time delays for patients and at worst can
mean that patients are not given access to specialised services required. The
presentation provides further details of each.
Bergin, S. M., J. M. Gurr, et al. (2012). «Australian Diabetes Foot Network: management of diabetes-related foot
ulceration – a clinical update.» Medical Journal of Australia 197(4): 226-229.
Vu, T., A. Harris, et al. (2007). «Cost-effectiveness of multidisciplinary wound care in nursing homes: a pseudorandomized
pragmatic cluster trial.» Family Practice 24(4): 372-379.
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