Growth in home care meets changing community needs

21 Jul 2021

Chief Executive Officer Ambulatory and Home Services Robyn Sutherland said this period had been a time of significant change that positioned the service for sustainable growth.

“In this past year and a half, we have restructured our workforce, relocated and resized some of our service hubs and expanded both our service profile and footprint – all with the goal of meeting the varied needs of our patients and their families and carers,” Robyn said.

“We have invested in a strong clinical team who bring an extra layer of clinical governance to our service by providing support to our caregivers on the road.

“Our nursing clinical specialists provide expertise in wound care, stoma care, continence, maternity, palliative care and oncology and we have a strong emphasis on ongoing caregiver education to ensure caregivers are always up-to-date with current practices.”

In this period of time, the team have opened a new location in Bunbury which offers general care, oncology support services and maternity in South-West Western Australia.

Home oncology and infusion services are also offered to patients in Perth and plans are in motion to roll out to our locations in other states.

These services mean that patients don’t need to go to hospital for lengthy medical infusions and can instead receive their treatments in the comfort of their own home.

The changed environment due to COVID-19 has shone a light on the advantages of home care and its ability to offer safe, patient-centred care.

“Many of our patients are vulnerable, elderly or isolated, so when COVID-19 first appeared, it became clear that continuing to provide them with care in the home was paramount,” Robyn said.

“Having that human connection with our nursing caregivers was just as important as the clinical care they needed.” 

“We also found that more patients chose to have their care delivered in the safety of home, to protect themselves from the virus as well as be more comfortable.”

St John of God Healthcare at Home services are provided in WA in Perth and Bunbury, and in Victoria in Ballarat, Bendigo, Berwick (south-east Melbourne) and Geelong.

You can find out more about St John of God Healthcare at Home on our website www.sjog.org.au/healthcareathome

Home nursing key stats:

This financial year, (as at 22 March 2021), St John of God Health Care’s home nursing service provided 87,665 home care visits

The majority of these visits were to support people who needed acute care such as after hospital surgery or medical care, medication management for chronic disease, and postnatal care.