Aim
The goal of the initiative was to improve patient health outcomes by giving our patients another option of care. Our initiative assists the North West Hospital and Health Service in relieving bed blocks by taking stable patients and conditions and managing these in the community. Our initiative also allows for our Discharge Against Medical Advice (DAMA) patients to be offered to get back to country and receive an alternative delivery of care.
Outcomes
Although our patient capacity within any one time is six patients, we have still been able to see a total of 37 patients by mid-June 2021.
We are also assisting our DAMA patients by removing them from the hospital environment and seeing them in the community and provide care. Overall HITH has proved in the last three months prior to the end of June 2021 to be a great benefit for our HHS and the Mount Isa community as we have had great feedback from our patients, healthcare staff and general members of the public.
Background
With one 46-bed hospital providing tertiary support to 12 other remote communities, the Mount Isa Hospital routinely faces bed pressures.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about the need to be responsive to health challenges, in particular in rural communities. This is one such a responsive project, initiated to keep patients in their home on country and safe from Corona virus.
This project was sponsored by Better Health Queensland and a Covid-19 First Nations grant. It utilises technology to remotely monitor how patients are managing in their homes to enhance the care provided.
