Dressings, ulcers, stitches removal

Dressings and ulcers are routinely managed by our adept nurse practitioner. The wound site may be swabbed to look for signs of infection. If there are signs of infection you will be offered to see the doctor for review and possibly antibiotics. The nurse will prescribe addition dressing and offer you advice and support in how to self manage them.

It is the contracted responsibility of the provider who inserted your stitches to take them out, however the practice does remove them if provided the correct information by the health professional who inserted them.

Please book to see a nurse for the removal of stitches. Generally stitches should be removed after 5-7 days on the face, 10-14 days for skin over a joint and 7-10 days for all other skin. These times may vary according to the advice given by the clinicians and absorbable stitches do not need to be removed.

Bring clinical letter before booking an appointment with the nurse

If you have had stitches put in you will require to bring a letter from the hospital stating which stitches were put in, what type - dissolvable or non-dissolvable and how long they should be insitu. Failure to do so, for clinical safety and risk of complications, may result in you being redirected back to the provider who inserted them