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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (25 June) . . Page.. 2105 ..

HOSPITAL IN THE HOME - PILOT PROGRAM
Ministerial Statement and Paper

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Minister for Health and Community Care) (4.35): Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, I seek leave of the Assembly to make a ministerial statement on the hospital in the home program.

Leave granted.

MRS CARNELL: I am pleased to announce that the ACT community will soon have access to a pilot ACT hospital in the home program, which will enhance the provision of focused acute nursing and allied health care for patients in community settings, usually their own home. The program will be similar to hospital in the home programs established elsewhere in Australia over the last few years. The program will target patients experiencing an acute episode of illness and those recovering during the early post-operative period who, without the support of the program, would remain in hospital. Patient conditions that have been successfully targeted by hospital in the home programs in other States include medical conditions and orthopaedic, plastic, vascular and general surgery.

The hospital in the home program aims to improve the quality of care for particular groups of clients, reduce the average length of stay in hospital, increase the number of surgical admissions and decrease the waiting list. The program will offer continuity of care from hospital to home and encourage patients to be actively involved in their own care. The hospital in the home program will be formed partly by amalgamating resources and funding from three separate existing programs funded under the Medicare incentive program. The amalgamation of these programs will allow the development of a more comprehensive program with increased hours of service delivery. The program will also be able to provide care for patients with a greater variety of medical conditions. Amalgamation of the programs will improve the efficiency of this type of service by streamlining the coordination and administration of the programs and avoiding duplication.

The services provided by the amalgamated programs will be maintained and the categories of patients from Calvary and Woden Valley hospitals will be included in the expanded program. The types of patients previously included on the programs which are to be amalgamated are those having had orthopaedic surgery procedures, including total knee or hip replacements and fractured neck of femur. Post-general surgery patients will include patients following breast, plastic and abdominal surgery. Medical patients included on the programs have included those requiring intravenous antibiotics.

While maintaining the existing range of services, the program in the early stages will specifically target post-surgical clients. The surgical services team at Woden Valley Hospital will manage the program. A committee is providing advice on the types of patients most suitable for expanding the pilot program during the implementation phase.

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