Registered nurses providing wound care at home for NDIS participants across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and the Redlands. Pressure injuries, surgical wounds, leg ulcers and complex wounds, assessed properly, dressed correctly and tracked until they heal.
A wound that is managed well heals in a predictable way. A wound that is managed badly, or not at all, turns into an infection, a hospital admission or a chronic problem that drags on for months. For NDIS participants, who often have reduced mobility, fragile skin, diabetes or circulation problems, the difference between those two outcomes is usually consistent, skilled nursing care.
Home wound care means a registered nurse comes to you. At the first visit the nurse assesses the wound and the reasons behind it, measures and photographs it, checks for infection and writes a dressing plan. At each visit after that the wound is cleaned, redressed, measured again and compared with the previous visit. Your GP receives regular updates and the plan changes as the wound changes. Nothing about it is guesswork.
Wound care is one of the most common reasons participants are referred to our community nursing service, and it is often the first step towards broader nursing support such as medication management or high intensity supports.
Common in participants who use a wheelchair or spend long periods in bed. We stage the injury, manage moisture and infection, arrange pressure-relieving equipment and work with carers on repositioning so the injury heals and stays healed.
After a hospital stay, a surgical wound needs monitoring for infection and dehiscence and a dressing regime that matches the surgeon\'s instructions. We take over from the hospital and keep the surgeon and GP informed.
Venous and arterial leg ulcers and diabetic foot wounds need careful dressing selection, sometimes compression, and close attention to circulation and blood glucose. These wounds heal slowly, so consistency matters more than anything.
Wounds that have stalled, wounds needing negative pressure wound therapy, skin tears in fragile skin, burns and abrasions that need ongoing clinical attention. We coordinate with wound specialists when a wound is beyond routine care.
Assessment first. Before any dressing goes on, your nurse looks at the whole picture: the wound bed, the surrounding skin, signs of infection, pain, your nutrition, your circulation and anything in your history that affects healing. That assessment decides the treatment, not the other way round.
Measurement and photographs. Every wound is measured and photographed at each visit, with your consent. Healing is judged on evidence, so a wound that is not improving is obvious within a couple of visits rather than a couple of months.
A written dressing plan. The plan sets out the products, the frequency of changes, what carers can do between visits and the signs that mean you should call us. It is reviewed at every visit.
GP and specialist updates. Your GP receives progress reports, and if the wound needs a specialist, a swab or a change in medication, we make the request through your GP promptly. If you are a participant of a Queensland Health wound clinic, we coordinate with the clinic rather than duplicating it.
Education for you and your carers. Keeping a dressing dry, recognising early infection and knowing when to call are simple skills that make a real difference between nursing visits.
The best wound care is the wound that never happens. For participants with limited mobility, pressure injury prevention is a standing part of our nursing care.
Wound care delivered by a community nurse is generally funded from your Core budget as a disability-related health support, when the wound is a consequence of your disability. Consumables such as dressings can usually be claimed in the same way. Wound care needed for an acute health event unrelated to your disability, such as a dressing clinic after surgery, is normally a Medicare or hospital matter, and some participants use both systems at different stages of a wound.
If wound care is not yet in your plan, your GP or specialist can provide the evidence for a plan review, and a support coordinator can help you request it. Our nurses can also write the clinical reports the NDIA asks for.
Home wound care across Brisbane City, from the northside to the bayside suburbs.
Wound nurses visiting participants from Coomera to Tugun and the hinterland.
From the Redcliffe Peninsula to Caboolture, North Lakes and Bribie Island.
It depends entirely on the wound. A fresh surgical wound or an infected wound may need dressing changes every day or two. A stable chronic wound might be reviewed twice a week. Your nurse sets the visit schedule after the first assessment and adjusts it as the wound changes, and the schedule is written into your care plan so you always know what to expect.
Often, yes. Where wound care is part of your NDIS-funded community nursing, the consumables can usually be claimed from your Core budget as disability-related health supports, provided the wound is related to your disability. Wounds unrelated to your disability may be covered through Medicare or the hospital instead. Your nurse and plan manager will tell you which applies before anything is ordered.
Medicare and the public hospital system cover treatment of an acute wound as a health matter, such as a dressing clinic after surgery. The NDIS funds ongoing wound care at home when the wound is a consequence of your disability, for example a pressure injury from reduced mobility. Some participants use both, and the funding line depends on what caused the wound and how long it needs care.
Yes. Pressure injuries are one of the most common wounds our community nurses manage. Treatment at home covers staging and measuring the injury, choosing the right dressing, managing moisture and infection, arranging pressure-relieving equipment and training carers in repositioning and skin checks so the injury heals and does not recur.
Yes. Your nurse documents every wound assessment with measurements and photographs, and sends progress updates to your GP and to any specialist involved. If a wound stalls or deteriorates, we contact your GP straight away rather than waiting for a scheduled review.
We escalate. That may mean changing the dressing regime, reviewing nutrition, circulation, diabetes control or medications that slow healing, arranging a swab to check for infection, or referring you to a wound specialist or vascular clinic through your GP. Wound healing is tracked at every visit, so a stalled wound is picked up early.