History

Overview: South Australia Wound Management Association Inc.

A meeting of eleven interested people in September 1991, was the catalyst for the formation of The South Australian Wound Management Association. The inaugural general meeting of this fledgling Wound Care Group was on 28 October 1991 and Officer Bearers and committee members of the newly formed South Australian Wound Care Association were elected.

The aims of SAWCA were to:

• improve client assessment;

• develop protocols;

• establish effective trade links;

• establish regular education meetings, newsletter and dissemination of information/knowledge;

• facilitate research;

• establish multi-disciplinary membership;

• develop a constitution and move to incorporation

The Inaugural Annual General Meeting was held in February of 1992 when the draft constitution was presented, accepted and Incorporation in South Australia followed. In 1994 the Constitution was reviewed and changes were made to align it with the Constitution of the Australian Wound Management Association Inc. It was timely for our Association to alter its name to include Management in the title. "Care" was deleted and the Association is now known as the South Australian Wound Management Association Inc.

Membership has risen rapidly and peaked in 1994 when over 250 people were financial members of the Association. In 1995 representation of the allied health disciplines on the committee occurred and in 1997 a multi-disciplinary membership of approximately 240 members was recorded. In 2003 the membership numbers remain stable at about 250 members.

The membership is active with between 60-100 people attending the quarterly Education Meetings and Trade Display evenings. Nurses, medical practitioners, podiatrists, physiotherapists, and pharmacists attend Education Meetings regularly. The topics presented are always relevant and include the progress of the latest research on wound management, as well as case studies, current trends and specific management strategies for particular types of wounds.

August 1992 saw the first issue of the newsletter "A Stitch in Time" being mailed to members. The newsletters remain a valuable and regular feature supplied to the membership. The articles are topical and contain highlights of the presentations from the previous educational meeting. This is a service to country and metropolitan members who are unable to attend the educational meetings.

In 1994 a logo was developed and is now on all stationery. Also planning commenced for the very successful one day Adelaide Conference "Wound Management- Bridging the Gap" that was held at the Adelaide Convention centre in March 1995. In 1997 a further one day seminar "A challenging Time for Wound Management" was held and another conference titled “On the Cutting Edge: Advancing Wound management” was held in 1999. In 2002 SAWMA held the 4th Australian Wound Management Association National Conference titled “2002 A Wound Odyssey”. Many eminent International and National speakers made this an outstanding celebration of 10 years of wound management in this state. The Conference was held between the 7-10 March and was an wonderful venue for updating knowledge and networking with International and National colleagues. The Trade have continued to support SAWMA and the Trade Exhibition was, as usual, excellent. As well, the Association offers educational sessions to suit needs of participants at their venue at a negotiated cost.

From the beginnings of the Association the Wound Management product companies have supported both the committee and educational meetings with enthusiasm. Representatives attend and present a Trade Display at each of the Association's educational meetings, including the Annual General Meeting. The products displayed always reflect the meeting's theme, and representatives talk informatively with the attending members.

To increase the Association’s availability to the health professionals and community members interested in wound management a subscription to a paging service was made. The Pager has been operational since August 1995 and the phone number is listed in the telephone directory. The number of telephone calls re membership continue to increase, as do the enquiries from the community and multi-disciplinary health team members seeking relevant information on wounds

In 1998 the SAWMA website was developed and this has proved to be a very active site that has several important links with other wound management interest groups. It may be accessed on www.sawma.org.au (South Australia was the first of the AWMA states to have a website)

Another important initiative of SAWMA Inc. has been the awarding of an annual Research grant to South Australians interested in conducting research into wound management practices. This practice was begun in 1997 and has resulted in many small grants to wound management researches. All major allied health disciplines have been successful in their applications. Since the 2002 conference the funding for research grants has increased.

In 13 years The South Australian Wound Management Association Inc. has become a relevant and committed team of members working together to challenge and change the myths and rituals of wound management practices. The objectives set in 1991 have guided the committee well.