SWAN Hill District Health can provide care within the comfort of your own home for certain services as part of its Hospital in the Home service.
It allows selected patients the opportunity to receive acute care hospital services at home.
Patients remain under the care of SHDH and their respective general practitioner, and remain a patient of the hospital while in the program.
HITH might start as a direct admission from the emergency department, or if already in hospital you can be transferred to HITH if the treating doctor deems it appropriate, you meet the criteria, and you agree to participate.
Registered nurses deliver clinical care in collaboration with your doctor. Allied Health services can also assist in your care during your HTIH admission.
SHDH patient Warwick Dahl was unaware of the HTIH service until it was coming up to Christmas, and he was stuck in a hospital in Melbourne.
“One of our friends – a nurse at SHDH – told us about the HITH service and suggested my doctor in Melbourne ring nurse unit manager Maria Fox. It was clear from the start they got along very well and within days I was home and being visited by the HITH nurses,” the ex-farmer said.
“Maria and the doctor co-ordinated everything. I went straight from St Vincent’s to my home in Swan Hill – didn’t even have to go through the hospital at Swan Hill again, not that I would have minded. It was just quicker, easier and less hassle to be allowed to go straight home,” Mr Dahl said.
He was particularly pleased because this was at the height of COVID restrictions and doors were closed to visitors throughout Victorian hospitals, so if he remained in hospital, it would have been a very different Christmas for him.
Despite still needing daily care, and due to excellent co-ordination between St Vincent’s staff and the SHDH team, Mr Dahl was home in plenty of time to celebrate Christmas and the new year in the comfort of his own home.
He still needed expert attention, and said he had complete faith in the expertise of the HITH nurses.
“We had a house full – the family came from Singapore, Sydney, all over the place – It was a joyful time for me to be at home. I might have missed all that if I was still in hospital, I’m sure it helped my wellbeing,” Mr Dahl said.
“SHDH’s HITH certainly helped me, and I think it can help a lot more people.”
Staff wear an official hospital badge when attending you at your home, so are easily identifiable allowing you to feel safe and comfortable and allowing us to provide your health care in the comfort of your own home.
What treatments do HITH provide? The types of treatments that HITH can provide are any acute conditions that requires hospital care without a hospital environment. Some of the services include, but are not limited to; anticoagulation, heart failure management, complex wound care, negative pressure wound therapy, surgical drain management, IV antibiotic therapy, diabetes stabilisation management, and subcutaneous medication administration
Benefits of HITH include provision of quality hospital care in a familiar, comfortable and private environment; less disruption to lifestyle, and allows return to normal activities as appropriate; less risk of infection; empowers you to make decisions about your health and lifestyle and provides the opportunity to make these choices with informed support from caring health professionals.
The program also eliminates the need for separation from family and friends
To receive care, the HITH team will need to receive a referral from your treating team.
You can be referred from many places including from other hospitals, any department within SHDH, and your GP.
You can have part of your care delivered at home and part in hospital or if safe and appropriate, all of your care at home.
Once your referral has been received, it then needs to be accepted by the HITH team before care is arranged.
For further information about HITH, contact 5033 9375, *This story has been collected as part of the Swan Hill District Health consumer stories project. If you have a story to tell or would like to share your experience, contact the quality, experience and safety team on 5033 9894 or feedback@shdh.org.au. To read more consumer stories, visit www.shdh.org.au/about-us/consumer-community-engagement/our-stories/.
