Treating hard-to-heal wounds with Accel-Heal Solo would help to meet NHS initiatives aiming to reduce the financial and environmental burden of hard-to-heal wounds. Embedding Accel-Heal Solo into treatment pathways for these wounds:
- Increases the healing rates – reducing the number of wounds being treated
- Speeds up the time to healing
- Reduces the overall number of dressings required, and
- Reduces the nursing time needed and the carbon emissions from travel associated with nursing visits
CURRENT WOUND MANAGEMENT APPROACHES ARE NOT FINANCIALLY , NOR ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE
In the UK, wound management costs the NHS £8.3 billion a year and affects 3.8 million adults annually,1,2 with wounds that fail to heal accounting for two-thirds of this cost.2 Over a 12-month period, 48% of diabetic foot ulcers, 40% of pressure ulcers, and 63% of venous leg ulcers will remain unhealed. This leads to a vast utilisation of healthcare resources, both in the community and in secondary care, all of which contribute significantly to the unsustainable cost of care.2
The climate crisis is also an ongoing global problem.4 In 2019, the Healthcare Without Harm report estimated that the NHS accounts for 5.4% of all UK carbon emissions, 60% of which is related to the use of equipment and consumables.5 In the UK, in respect of unhealed wounds alone, it is estimated that over 250 million wound dressings are changed every year, on average every 3 days3, at a cost, for the dressings alone, of £350 million.2 Additionally, most wound care is delivered within the community incurring considerable travel, adding to carbon emissions2,4
BY INCORPORATING ACCEL-HEAL SOLO INTO CARE PATHWAYS, THE HEALING RATE OF A WOUND CAN BE INCREASED, WHICH REDUCES THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND FINANCIAL BURDEN OF WOUND CARE
Faster wound healing leads to fewer consumables being used and less travel being incurred by community nurses, specialist nurses and patients and, therefore, less waste. This generates greater environmental and financial sustainability.4
Studies have estimated that Accel-Heal can increase healing rates for stalled venous leg ulcers from 53% healed to 97% healed within 12 months.6 Observational studies consistently demonstrate that the use of Accel-Heal leads to a high proportion of healed wounds6-8, and a randomised controlled trial showed that Accel-Heal can heal wounds 3.6 weeks faster than standard care alone.9
Studies also demonstrate that Accel-Heal reduces the number of nursing visits needed per patient by 17 per year, a reduction of 34%.10 The reduction in visits was the main contributor to the estimated per-patient cost reduction of up to £936 per annum (per VLU) resulting in an 11% overall cost reduction.11