The cost of wound care in the community. Part two in a series of three articles discusses the expenditure on wound management materials.

As part of a project examining expenditure on all wound management materials currently prescribed by general practitioners in Wales, the cost of dressing packs, pharmaceutical preparations and surgical absorbents was analysed. The findings suggest that by replacing non-woven swabs for woven swabs and by discontinuing the use of topical antibiotic powders and multiple dressing packs, considerable savings can be made.