Healthcare home now confirmed
OAMARU will be one of several centres in the Southern District Health Board region where a healthcare home is to be based in the future, Waitaki District Health Services chairman Chris Swann has confirmed.
The initiative is part of the health board’s Southern Primary and Community Care Strategy and aimed to provide more accessible and coordinated healthcare closer to patients’ homes.
During a regional tour of the Otago area in early
October which visited Oamaru, Gore, Balclutha, Queenstown and Alexandra, it was revealed what services the healthcare homes would provide and where they would be located.
At the Oamaru session on October 2, Southern District
Health Board chief executive Chris Fleming said it was ‘‘very likely’’ one would be based in Oamaru.
Mr Swann confirmed yesterday one of the healthcare homes would be based in the town.
While its location has not been confirmed, it was possible it would be based in the former North Otago Highland Pipe Band Hall next to the hospital, which was purchased by Waitaki District Health Services from the Waitaki District Council in 2016.
‘‘The hospital will move to become a healthcare home . . . which would be located physic ally on the Oamaru Hospital site. The exact configuration of that in terms of whether we use the pipe band hall or wherever has yet to be decided, because it would just be a matter of finalising what’s going to be in the hub and looking to see physically the best way to lay it out on the site with the buildings we’ve got.’’
He said the health board’s Primary and Community Care Strategy was ‘‘totally in line’’ with recommendations outlined in last year’s joint review of services at the hospital, carried out by Waitaki District Health Services in conjunction with the health board.
Services that would be offered from the healthcare homes included minor surgical procedures, blood testing, specialist appointments, mental health and addiction programmes, pharmaceutical services, urgent care, community health initiatives and radiology services.
Mr Swann said the healthcare home initiative was where the future lay for health services and would be ‘‘positive’’ for patients as they would be able to be treated more effectively in their own homes, or closer to them.
It would also allow individual patient management plans to be used, which would in turn mean a higher level of care could be provided, he said.
The Oamaru healthcare home is scheduled to open in mid2019.