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Widening Hospital Avoidance program

Care Assess is pleased to announce we have finalised plans to roll out our Hospital Avoidance program state-wide. The Hospital Avoidance Packages (HAP) program documentation necessary for referral is provided below:

• Fact Sheet – Referral to Hospital Avoidance
• Referral Form

We are commencing communications with hospitals in each region in the next months, and it would be wonderful to begin receiving referrals from each region.

Background

The original program was a pilot with the RHH Emergency Department and the DHHS Eastern Shore Community Health targeted at HACC eligible clients living within a 15 km radius of the DHHS Community Health facility in Rosny. We commenced with one (1) diagnosis, cellulitis, as a presenting condition. The program of home support coordinated by Care Assess was to be intensive, up to 4 weeks and 5 days a week if assessed as necessary.

Hospital Avoidance gives the patient the support and encouragement to get up and going again, and to reduce the need for ongoing acute or community based services, as all Care Assess programs are delivered from a Wellness / Reablement perspective.

Care Assess contributed to the Info Sessions for the RHH staff and met with the RHH – EMAT team (Emergency Medical Assessment Team). We all continued to meet with the DHHS Community Nurses and Denise organised a meeting with the RHH ADON – Patient Flow where we outlined the program and its benefits in reducing Bed Block – Ambulance ramping, Triage Times and general patient flow.

Initial consultation with DHHS led to an early broadening of the catchment areas to include the Southern and Northern Suburbs of Hobart, and to expand the diagnoses to include for the Community Nursing side of things, Community Acquired Pneumonia and for Care Assess’ side of things, simple strains, sprains and fractures.

Program refinements

Following the learnings gained in 2012-13, we are pleased to be able to now offer a refined program, and can include any diagnosis provided that referral from a hospital staff indicates health professional has assessed the service as appropriate and suitable.

Patients can also be included who had been admitted for short stay for any reason and who are suitable to be assessed for the program. The program enables short stay patients to avoid a longer hospital admission, therefore freeing up valuable inpatient beds quicker.

Care Assess will now widen the home support side of the program, offering coordination of the Personal Care and Domestic Assistance component, to include all HACC eligible clients across Tasmania.