Hospital treatment ‘doesn’t get better’ than when it’s done at home – Sydney Morning Herald

Dedicated teams of nurses and allied health professionals across the state have been treating coronavirus patients without those patients having to set foot in hospital.

While seriously ill COVID-19 patients are treated in hospital intensive care units, about 80 of the patients being looked after by NSW Health are being treated by "hospital in the home" teams.

Clinical nurse Rebecca Lyon with hospital in the home patient Karen Troy-Smith.Credit:Danielle Smith

In northern NSW, Lismore Base Hospitals hospital in the home (HITH) team is made up of six staff who work around the clock seven days a week to deliver care to patients in their own homes.

Clinical nurse specialist Rebecca Lyon, who organises the team, says they have looked after 13 patients who were either COVID-19 positive or deemed at high risk of getting it in the past four weeks.

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We call them daily between 10 and 12, we go through an assessment, triage each client, discussing their conditioning and identify any concerns, she said.

Even though the check-ups are done through telehealth for COVID-19 patients, Ms Lyon said the team can discuss the case with the respiratory clinic and infectious disease doctors, and the patient can be sent to hospital if their condition worsens.

A NSW Health spokeswoman said HITH treatment saved patients from an unnecessary hospital stay, and freed up beds for those patients requiring more critical care.

While it has gained attention thanks to its use during the pandemic, hospital in the home is not a new service. Across NSW hospitals use these teams to treat patients for conditions including cellulitis, lung disease, heart failure and pneumonia.

Nurse unit manager Bronwyn Browne, who started Lismore's HITH team 16 years ago, said the team treated patients who needed hospital-level treatment but were well enough to be at home.

They get full medical treatment, things like IV antibiotics, wound care, she said.

Theyre visited every day to have their observations taken in the comfort of their own home, and they can get on with daily life.

Karen Troy-Smith would have been in hospital far from home for seven weeks had it not been for hospital in the home treatment.

She was admitted to Brisbanes Prince Charles Hospital on March 2 with a serious lung infection nontuberculosis mycobacterium which required a long course of intense intravenous antibiotics.

But given the hospital was three hours from her home in Tullera and the worry of catching COVID-19 while fighting a tough lung infection, Ms Troy-Smith said she was happy to be put in the care of Lismores team for the remaining five weeks of her intravenous antibiotic course.

It was really reassuring that I could be in isolation in my own home and the HITH team could come here and provide a hospital service to me, she said.

Ms Troy-Smith said the medications had been tough, but the team had been a huge support.Credit:Danielle Smith

The treatment was difficult Ms Troy-Smith said she lost nine kilograms due to side-effects that included vomiting and diarrhoea but having the same people treat her every day made it a little easier.

To go through something like this, at times you get down, but I felt like they were beside me and giving me support the whole time, she said.

Now on a 48-week course of oral antibiotics, Ms Troy-Smith will still be seen by the close-knit team for regular tests and check-ups.

Ms Browne said it doesnt get any better than treating patients in their own home, and Ms Lyon said it helped patients because they had that family support, their own bed and even the comfort of their pets.

Its a really positive job its thinking outside of that box, Ms Lyon said.

Rachel Clun is a journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald.

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Hospital treatment 'doesn't get better' than when it's done at home - Sydney Morning Herald