Health Minister meets hospital at home patient
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt has met the Southern Trust’s Acute Care at Home team in Newry and heard first-hand from patient Seamus Murphy, how the service look after between 50 and 60 patients each day, who would otherwise have needed hospital care.
Operating seven days a week from 8am to 11pm, the service has prevented over 12,000 hospital admissions and supported earlier discharge for more than 2000 people since it was set up in 2014.
The team aims to respond to referrals from GPs, Northern Ireland Ambulance service, local hospitals, care homes and community specialist teams within just a few hours.
Acute Care at Home has the same access to diagnostic and laboratory services as a hospital setting and treats patients over the age of 65 with acute illnesses in residential, nursing or their own homes.
They have access to mobile diagnostic equipment, can take blood tests or organise other investigations and treat a range of conditions like chest infections, pneumonia or dehydration for example.
Seamus Murphy and his wife Pauline, from Warrenpoint have both used Acute Care at Home. Seamus, a retired chartered builder and building surveyor, explained to the Minister how Pauline who uses a feeding tube following surgery for cancer, had to attend the Royal Victoria Hospital Emergency Department on a number of occasions with complications from her condition.
Anxious at the thought of another stressful trip to Belfast when she needed further acute care in July, Pauline was delighted to be referred to this hospital at home alternative.
She was treated with intravenous antibiotics for 48 hours in her own home before switching to oral antibiotics and made an excellent recovery.
In August, Seamus himself was an Acute Care at Home patient with issues arising from Heart Failure. Despite, as he describes being in a ‘bad way’ for four months and needing hospital treatment, as Pauline’s main carer, Seamus was reluctant to leave her.
He said: “Going into hospital is not an option. My GP suggested this particular care at home. The team arrived with their box of equipment, set up in our ‘good room’ to assess me and within seven days I was back on my feet, fairly fit and lost about two stone of fluid. This is a really world class service.
” Going into hospital is not anyone’s wish. My wife has benefitted from this, I have and so has the whole family.
“They could come and go to the house, I could continue to care for her and now I can drive my car and take Pauline out again which I couldn’t do when I wasn’t well.”
Speaking during his meeting with Seamus and the Acute Care at Home team, Minister Mike Nesbitt said: “A hospital admission can be traumatic and disruptive for anyone, particularly for an older person who may be less mobile, or for those who have dementia.
“There are also associated risks for patients from an unnecessary or longer hospital stay than is needed, for example infection, falls, delirium and deconditioning.
“Acute Care at Home, is really transforming the way we can offer unscheduled care to our increasing number of older people who are living with more complex needs.
“This high quality care, delivered in their own home environment, promotes a better quality of life for our older population, avoiding stressful admissions and freeing up beds in our very busy acute hospitals when it is safe to do so.”
The Acute Care at Home team includes Consultant Geriatricians, Speciality Doctors, Specialist Nurses, Staff Nurses and Health Care Assistants, Pharmacists , Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Speech and Language therapists, Dietitians and works closely with many other Community Services.
