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WQ.116/2021
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER
QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 15th MARCH 2021
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 22nd MARCH 2021
Question
Will the Minister update members on the progress of the pilot scheme run in conjunction with Family Nursing and Home Care to fund the costs of medical hosiery for patients in the community with leg ulcers, with particular reference to –
- whether or not the funding available was sufficient to cover the costs of these dressings; and
- the detail of any cases in which patients required additional financial support in acquiring other specialist dressings?
Answer
- The funding provided for the hosiery pilot scheme which operated from February 2020 to February 2021 was £40,000. [The full cost was £40,419.] In total, 225 people benefited from the provision of hosiery (wraps and stockings, off the shelf and custom fit/made to measure). A percentage of these were repeat orders. The scheme continues to be funded, with a review of the scheme due to be completed by May 2021.
- We do not have any specific cases of people who required additional financial support in acquiring other specialist dressings. Those people who qualify for means-tested benefits from Customer & Local Services can apply for special payments in respect of certain medical expenses, which may include the cost of specialist dressings where subject to the appropriate clinical recommendation.
The hosiery funding is a separate piece of work from the wider costs of dressings. It has enabled us to provide products to those individuals where the bandages and/or dressing products have supported the management of the venous leg ulceration/oedema. The individuals are then at a point where the less bulky stockings or wraps are appropriate. These products also facilitate independence and allow a greater degree of self-care; with support from the nursing teams to teach application of the products, the patient can remove and re-apply them themselves to go to bed and, in the morning, have a shower/bath and lead a more independent life.