Journal of Community Nursing

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4 JCN supplement 2015,Vol 29 No 5
COMMUNITY WOUND CARE
Historically, community
hospitals have their origins
in cottage hospitals — these
were often built and paid for by
local communities with the services
offered reflecting the needs of the
local population. Now, however
they play an important role in the
wider NHS, offering services that
complement those of neighbouring
district general hospitals.
Community hospitals also
provide an extension to primary
care services and act as a source of
referral to and from acute hospitals,
as well as for the ‘step-down’
services needed by many patients
following acute episodes of ill health
(Department of Health [DH], 2000).
Recently, there has been a
significant rise in the number
of purpose-built community
hospitals and treatment centres,
demonstrating that they are no
longer simply regarded as rural
backwaters, but are also appropriate
for densely populated urban areas
with degraded housing stock and
poor family networks (DH, 2000).
However, staff in community
hospitals need to inform the public
of the increasingly complex cases
that they can manage, which can
offer benefits to patients and
relatives alike. Services offered
now include:
` Outpatients’ clinics
` Operating theatres
` Endoscopy sessions
` Maternity
` Elderly mental health
` Physiotherapy
` Occupational therapy.
It should increasingly be
considered inappropriate for patients
to be admitted to the acute sector for
procedures that are offered by a local
community hospital.
WOUND CARE
The cost to the NHS of treating
wounds has been estimated as
between £2.5–3.1 million (Posnett
et al, 2009), with up to 27–50% of
hospital beds in the acute sector
Jackie Griffin, tissue viability clinical nurse
specialist, Montgomery County Infirmary,
Powys, Wales
Wound care in the community hospital
IN BRIEF
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WHAT IS THE ‘PRODUCTIVE’ COMMUNITY HOSPITAL?
This programme supports frontline staff working in a community
hospital setting to improve the effectiveness, safety and reliability of
care they provide to patients. Using learning modules with specific
improvement techniques and measures, staff are able to follow a
process which leads to improvement in the three clinical areas of focus:
inpatients, day hospitals and minor injuries units.
Find out more about the ‘productive community hospitals programme’ at:
series.html