Lift for Hospital at Home
Coalition poll pledge
AN EXTRA 6000 patients will be treated in their homes rather than hospital beds if the Coalition wins the state election.
The Opposition will today announce a $175 million expansion of the home and community care program, in which patients with chronic disease and other conditions are treated in their homes.
The expansion of Hospital in the Home services would divert an extra 6000 patients a year, who would otherwise be placed in hospital, from emergency departments, wards, nursing homes and GP clinics into out-of-hospital care.
Opposition health spokeswoman Mary Wooldridge said the package will help thousands of Victorians with complex conditions to identify their needs and receive appropriate treatment sooner so they did not end up in hospital.
More than a million Victorians living with multiple chronic diseases such as cancer, arthritis, diabetes, heart or lung disease requiring regular hospital care will be the targets of the package.
“Many Victorians have to be admitted into a public hospital or have extended stays in hospital due to the limited availability of Hospital in the Home or equivalent care,” Ms Wooldridge said. “Hospital in the Home helps patients who can safely be treated outside hospitals get back home to their loved ones but with regular visits and support from health care professionals.”
The plan to be announced today will also offer support services for up to 5000 people a year with multiple chronic diseases to help manage their conditions and prevent or delay hospital readmission, as well as; INCREASED support for young people to transition from the Royal Children’s Hospital to adult hospitals; GRANTS for communitybased chronic disease peer support groups, including online groups; and, A STATEWIDE plan for chronic disease management to prevent people from being admitted to hospital.
Meanwhile, more older Australians are receiving taxpayer-funded support services and clinical care to remain in their family home for longer, figures show.
Data reveals 77,918 older Australians were supported by home care packages at December last year — a rise of 13.5 per cent or 9261 places.
The Home Care Packages Program report shows threequarters of people listed for home care were receiving Federal Government support either through packages or the home support program.
The Opposition has highlighted a growing queue of seniors waiting for packages.
Labor criticised delays in releasing the official list, claiming 105,000 were waiting, with the average wait time for a high-level package blowing out to more than a year.
The data shows that at March 31 54,281 people in the queue are either in or have been assigned a home care package.