It no secret that wounds are expensive to treat and place a massive strain on healthcare resources each year in Australia. Annually over 400,00 Australians suffer from chronic wounds, with 350,000 of them in the over 65 age bracket. Wound care takes $3 billion dollars out of Australia’s health care budget each year and it’s reported that nearly $1 billion of this cost is preventable and would save 500,000 hospital bed days annually, according to Wounds Australia.
Not-for-profit organisation Wounds Australia reports that patients spend on average $4000 on out-of-pocket expenses related to chronic wound care. It is these expenses that deter many older patients from seeking timely treatment, which can lead to avoidable hospitalisations and amputations.
The Australian Government, Wounds Australia and Wound Specialist Services are working hard to increase wound awareness to the general public and to all health practitioners.