The Rockliff Liberal Government is helping more patients in Southern Tasmania return home from hospital sooner - or avoid presenting to a hospital altogether – with the expansion of the Royal Hobart Hospital’s (RHH) Hospital@home Program as of last month.
Minister for Health, Guy Barnett, said the program brings together and expands on three existing services to significantly increase the amount of hospital-level care delivered in the community, by expanding its “virtual ward” from 12 to 22 beds, and providing rapid response services.
Patients admitted to Hospital@home receive appropriate care tailored to their individual needs, which can include in-home visits, appointments at community health clinics or use of digital technology allowing virtual monitoring of patients at home.
We’ve established eight new geriatric care beds providing comprehensive assessment and management of older, frailer patients – a first-of-its kind service for the State set to enable more elderly Tasmanians to maintain their independence in the community for longer.
Two new beds for patients in need of acute care have also been added to the virtual ward, which was initially established in April 2020, while more Tasmanians are now eligible for Hospital@home with an expanded catchment area – a 45-minute radius from Glenorchy and Cambridge - for care delivery and an expanded referral base.
Minister for Health, Guy Barnett, said expansion of the service was an important part of the Rockliff Liberal Government’s long-term plan to do what matters for all Tasmanians by increasing hospital capacity and improving patient flow throughout the health system to support people to remain at home or discharge from hospital sooner if safe to do so.
“Bringing more hospital-level care into the community is an important part of our long-term plan for transforming the delivery of health care in Tasmania”, Minister Barnett said.
“Expansion of the Hospital@home service will allow us to safely discharge more patients from hospital sooner or avoid people being admitted to hospital in the first place.
“Not only will this free up beds in hospital for those who need them, earlier discharge – or staying in the community altogether – is better for patient recovery.
“The new service boosts our ability to prevent unnecessary hospital attendances, easing pressure on the RHH emergency department and improving patient flow throughout the system.
“This is another example of the way the Rockliff Liberal Government is delivering the health care Tasmanians deserve, where and when they need it.”
Patients can be admitted to the virtual ward from home, community care providers, the emergency department or physical hospital wards where safe to do so, representing a larger referral base than the previous system.
In addition to the virtual admitted wards, Hospital@home’s rapid response arm works closely with primary care providers and Residential Aged Care Facilities to coordinate rapid in-home interventions to patients experiencing exacerbation of health issues, to provide hospital-level care in their own homes.
The service operates 7 days per week from 7.30am to 10.30pm, with care provided by an interdisciplinary team made up of medical, nursing and allied health professionals as well as pharmacists.