2005 Finalist

Nurse Maude Association Leg Ulcer Clinic: Innovating from the inside out

Canterbury's older people suffering from leg ulcers are enjoying improved quality of life thanks to the development of a specialist community-based nursing clinic.

People with leg ulcers can suffer from lack of mobility, social isolation, depression and poor quality of life. Many people need repeat hospital treatment for infections and plastic surgery.

Establishing the leg ulcer clinic and providing specialist nursing services in the community has gone a considerable way towards remedying the situation.

The Nurse Maude Association Clinic was established in collaboration with Christchurch Hospital's vascular services. Treating older people with ulcers at the clinic is helping to prevent clinical complications which in turn reduces the need for more expensive inpatient care and additional pharmaceuticals.

The use of compression therapy to treat leg ulcers means many patients receive compression bandaging once a week compared to the traditional regime which often required daily visits to get dressings changed.

Introducing the community-based service is also freeing up more time for acute vascular patients to get hospital based treatment.

The Nurse Maude Association has been delivering community health care for more than l00 years. The NMA has some 14,000 clients in the community and employs 1,300 staff.

Nurse Maude Association
Contact: Sheree East 03 3754 162
Email: sheree@nursemaude.org.nz