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A Deputy is pushing for £1m in extra funding to cover the high cost of dressings for islanders with chronic sores – after one of her parishioners had to go without food in order to afford medical hosiery for his leg wounds.
Reform Jersey's Raluca Kovacs told Express she was first made aware of the high costs of medical hosiery and wound dressings after being approached by a parishioner who explained that he was struggling to afford the £300 to £400 a month it cost to dress his leg wounds.
"I didn't realise how much it cost and that it was such a big problem," she said.
"This man told me that he would go without food to afford the necessary medical hosiery for his wounds, or would have to choose between food, rent and treatment each month. It's not fair."
Unlike its UK counterpart, Jersey’s public health service has not historically covered the cost of medical dressings for patients needing treatment for anything from a simple cut to more complex wounds.
Facing dressing bills stretching into the thousands of pounds, some patients have found themselves forced to opt for cheaper options – potentially risking their health in the process.
Pictured: Deputy Raluca Kovacs has been made increasingly aware of cases in the community where people are struggling to afford necessary wound dressings.
This was the tragic reality in 2019 when the inquest of an elderly gentleman facing weekly bills upwards of £160 to dress his leg ulcers revealed that, in his desperation to keep costs down, he had resorted to using nappies and sadly died when the wounds got infected.
Following this, a £40,000 trial was launched by Government in 2020 to cover the high cost of dressings for islanders with chronic sores.
The scheme – run in partnership with charity Family Nursing and Home Care – was continued and has been extended throughout 2024, however Deputy Kovacs explained that the £40,000 is no longer enough to cover the costs.
Within the first quarter of this year, FNHC reported that almost £26,000 of the £40,000 had already been spent on "supplying only the basic necessities, but more would have been required for optimal treatment".
Pictured: Deputy Kovacs said that additional funding at the "point of need" would help to reduce unnecessary emergency hospital admissions.
In a report outlining her £1m funding bid, which will be considered by politicians during the Government Plan debate next month, Deputy Kovacs said that there is a "an identified proven community health requirement" for more funding for medical hosiery and wound dressings.
She also referenced a project started by the FNHC on revising lower limb wounds pathways, ongoing since March 2023, which found that "it has been recognised by clinicians working across multiple services that there is suboptimal treatment for lower limb wounds in Jersey, resulting in poorer patient outcomes increased costs and drain on nursing time".
The project explained: "Locally, clinicians working in the area of lower leg wounds have highlighted the desperate need to review the pathway of care for lower limb wounds and the resources supporting it to enhance care, outcomes and better use of staff.”
In order to meet the anticipated demand for medical hosiery following on from the pilot scheme and for the ongoing related demand for wound dressings, FNHC estimated that around £1m would be needed each year – around £200k on hosiery and £800k on dressings. Deputy Kovacs is suggesting that this money should come from the Health Insurance Fund.
Deputy Kovacs outlined the socioeconomic benefits of treating leg wounds early, such as enabling more of the population of working age to stay in work, as well as reducing the strain on other aspects of the health care system by treating wounds "at the time of need".
She explained that this would reduce the likelihood of recurrence and complications, freeing up nurse time and allowing the reallocation of nursing resources, as well as reducing unnecessary emergency hospital admissions.
"We have this tendency to be reactive after something bad has happened," said Deputy Kovacs.
"Why not act now and prevent it from happening in the first place?"
Ulcer patient “worried” by cost of medical dressings (2019)
FOCUS: Treating the unseen costs of medical dressings (2019)
£40k trial to fund medical dressings (2020)
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