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Patients in rural areas will get access to high level care in the comfort of their own homes with the Hospital in the Home (HITH) program to be expanded across the Darling Downs.
Darling Downs Health Chief Executive, Annette Scott PSM said the program allowed patients to be treated or monitored in their own homes for conditions or injuries that would otherwise require admission to hospital.
“This program has been running in Toowoomba for several years – this expansion now allows our rural and regional patients equity of access,”
Darling Downs Health Chief Executive, Annette Scott PSM
“It also benefits our rural hospitals by reducing the pressure on staff by freeing up beds for more critically ill people and reducing the time people spend in our hospitals.”
HITH has already started in Dalby and Warwick, with the Kingaroy service to begin in August.
92-year-old Marjorie Burley was the first patient to be treated under the rural HITH program at her home outside of Warwick.
Ms Burley said the HITH program helped support her recovery at home from a chronic injury.
“I’ve been getting the best treatment any patient could ever get,” Ms Burley said.
“The staff have been lovely and kind. I could not wish for any better treatment.”
The HITH program operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, like any hospital ward, with nurses visiting patients daily at home.
The program is designed to support rural patients living within 50 kilometres of Dalby, Kingaroy and Warwick.
To be eligible for HITH, patients need to be medically stable, have a fixed address, a working phone, and a safe home environment.
ENDS