HITH FREES PATIENTS AND HOSPITAL BEDS
By Caitlan Gallagher
Hospital beds are in high demand at the Gold Coast University
Hospital, with Queensland Health looking at ways to combat the problem.
A new healthcare at home program has been developed as a solution to give patients vital medical attention in their own homes.
A new healthcare at home program has been developed as a solution to give patients vital medical attention in their own homes.
The Hospital at the Home [HITH] program is offered to
selected inpatients suffering from acute medical problems, which require
clinical support.
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| Image: Gold Coast University Hospital |
Around 48 percent of Government-funded health care expenditure is provided
to patients with acute conditions.
Queensland Health reports suggest a majority of these
acute patients could receive home care, saving the State Government millions.
The voluntary program means some locals will have the
opportunity to leave hospital and still receive quality care.
Queensland Health believes the initiative will increase
patient flow and decrease health expenses.
This year it was announced that 14 billion dollars would
be spent on the health care system in Queensland.
In total this equates to an increase of over 560 million
dollars compared to last year’s budget.
Overall, 11.5 billion dollars of the budget is dedicated
to hospital services and health care programs.
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| Image: Dr Anthony DeNiro |
Dr Anthony DeNiro says the Hospital in the Home Program
is a way of combatting demands at the Gold Coast University Hospital.
“So by bringing the acute care to a home setting costs
are a lot lower than a hospital bed,” Dr DeNiro said.
Patients that have taken part in the program have shown
satisfaction with the service and opportunities available to them.
Health services say the program offers better or equal
health outcomes for patients compared to traditional hospital care.
Hospital in the Home Clinical Nurse Julie Dawson believes
the program is the beginning of a new era in healthcare.
“We’re hoping it’s going to be the way of the future. It
certainly helps to keep people out of hospital and keep them in the home,
because it all helps with their recovery,” Nurse Dawson said.
The service works in conjunction with Blue Care to ensure
patients are receiving one-on-one medical attention.
Selected patients can receive treatment on a case
specific basis, meaning that patients with a chronic illness are unable to
obtain the home care.
Originally 40 to 50 patients were participating in the
program, but the number has almost doubled on the Gold Coast with more patients
volunteering.
A Queensland Health report also shows that the number of
chronic diseases from 2014 is increasing, creating a stronger demand for
hospital spaces.
The statistics also suggest the service reduces
complications and hospital service costs.
58 year old Shelley Goldsack from Carrara is taking part
in the Hospital in the Home program.
She suffers from an acute illness and that affects her
digestive tract.
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| Image: Nurse Julie Dawson (left), Patient Shelley Goldsack (right). |
Her illness gastroparesis means that she is unable to
digest food properly, instead it sits in her stomach for longer than normal and
she has to be fed intravenously.
As part of her care she receives daily visits from a
professional clinician who administers her nutritional needs.
Under normal circumstances she would have spent the past two
months in Hospital, leading up to her surgery.
Instead she is taking part in the home care program and
allowing another person to take her place in hospital.
The pensioner will still need to attend hospital for a
mandatory surgery procedure, but she will only be there for recovery purposes.
A major benefit on home care is the safety from hospital
diseases.
A majority of acute patients contract infections in
hospital and Ms Goldsack used to get infected every time she stayed in
hospital.
“In hospital, I have often copped sepsis from TPN, which
is a normal thing. I’ve been on it [HITH] since May and not one lot of sepsis.
So this is a big thing. It’s really great,” Ms Goldsack said.
The program is the first step in combating the national
problem of health care costs and demands.
With an average population growth of 90 thousand people
per year over a decade, there will be an even stronger need for home care
programs.
Over the past year there was an increase of 4.1
percent in health care expenditure.
In addition, there is a bigger demand for hospital spaces
with over 66 thousand hospitalisations each year in Queensland and the Hospital
in the Home program aims to decrease this demand.
Video: The Future of Healthcare at Home.
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