Health and social work services

Description

Surgical aftercare is a community service which wound care for mobile patients (children and adults), following a surgical procedure. The service provides: — episodes of suture removal, — episodes of clip removal, — episodes of wound care. The service does not provide care for complex wounds or housebound patients. This includes responsibility for organising the appropriate supply and access to all relevant dressings and appliances. This includes more specialist dressings, if required. The majority of dressings will be accessed via central dressing supplies, but specialist dressings will have to be prescribed. The service is provided within each GP Practice within Tower Hamlets, ensuring local, accessible and integrated services for patients. The provider will: provide a wound care service for post-surgical patients, within the patients’ GP practice. The indicative activity figure is 9019 episodes of surgical aftercare per annum. The surgical aftercare service is for the removal of sutures and general wound care following a hospital procedure where: — the operation was performed as a consequence of a referral to or on-going care by hospital services, — it is either inconvenient for or undesirable for the patient to attend at hospital. This would include follow-up of patients from A&E or the Walk In Centre. The provider will have responsibility for organising the appropriate supply and access to all relevant dressings and appliances (including more specialist dressing if required). The provider must ensure they purchase clinically appropriate supplies, in line with locally agreed formulary and guidance, and ensure effective procedures to manage the risks of handling medicines, dressing and appliances.