Hospital In The Home - North

What is Hospital In The Home - North? 

• Hospital In The Home - North is a virtual ward that provides acute hospital care for appropriate adult inpatients in their primary residence or community facility that would otherwise be provided in hospital.  
• Care is provided by an interdisciplinary team in Northern Tasmania that provides hospital-level care within the comfort of a patient’s home or community setting if it is safe to do so.
• Care will be provided by a highly skilled interdisciplinary healthcare team comprising of Allied Health, Nursing, Pharmacy and Medical staff, and be tailored to the patient’s condition.
• Hospital In The Home - North patients may have an acute illness or injury or still require hospitalisation which can be safety managed at home. 
• This service is for adult patients who live within an approximate 30-minute radius of the Launceston General Hospital (LGH).
• Hospital In The Home - North is not an emergency service and does not replace the need to call 000 if your situation is critical and/or an urgent response is required.

How does Hospital In The Home - North work? 

• Patients may be referred by an LGH clinician who identifies that the patient’s condition meets the service’s eligibility criteria, and the admitted care can be delivered safely in the patient’s home.
• Patient may be admitted to Hospital In The Home - North from the LGH Emergency Department or transferred to Hospital In The Home - North during an admission from another inpatient ward. 
• A Hospital In The Home - North Registered Nurse will have a discussion with the referring LGH clinician to assess if Hospital In The Home - North can safely meet the patient’s needs in the home and community environment. 
• An initial assessment will be conducted by a Hospital In The Home - North clinician.  This may take place in the LGH, the patient’s home or in a clinic environment. The Hospital In The Home - North clinical team will speak with the patient about their healthcare needs and develop a plan for their care together. 
• Patients will receive daily contact from a Hospital In The Home - North clinician. 
• When a patient is admitted to Hospital In The Home - North they will be classed as an inpatient of the LGH. During admission the patient will be unable to visit their usual General Practitioner for Medicare billing reasons.
• A patient’s nominated General Practitioner will receive a comprehensive clinical summary about their admission upon leaving the hospital service.

Who will be involved in your care?

The Hospital In The Home - North healthcare team includes:

• Medical Specialists
• Nurses
• Pharmacists, pharmacy technicians
• Allied Health Professionals (Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists and Social Workers).

The Hospital In The Home - North team will:

• undertake an initial assessment
• advise the patient as soon as possible of their expected length of stay
• organise mutually agreed times for home visits
• monitor the patient’s condition daily and tailor care appropriately

The service will also offer education, support and follow-up options for patients, families, and their carers as would usually occur during an inpatient admission. 

How to contact the Hospital In The Home - North team:

• This Hospital in The Home - North service operates 24 hours, seven days a week (including public holidays).
• Home visits occur between 7:30am to 10:30pm, seven days per week (including public holidays).
• A registered nurse will be available via phone to provide advice and support 24 hours a day. 

Resources

Hospital In the Home North Fact Sheet

Launceston General Hospital – Patient and Visitor Information