Vic’s Hospital in the Home service to continue post-Covid

Premier Daniel Andrews said his government’s Hospital in the Home program will play a long-term role in ensuring the state’s battered hospitals continue to function into the future.“It’s going to be a feature of our health system for many many years to come,” he said.Nearly 60,000 Victorians have left hospital to recover at home in the last year, freeing up 200 hospital beds every day.The program allows Victorians to access experienced nurses, clinicians and allied health professionals at home, surrounded by their loved ones, as part of a more convenient and tailored experience for patients.It also works to free up much-needed capacity across the hospital network. Since the program began in July last year, 25 regional health services have delivered more than 71,000 days — that would have otherwise been spent in hospital — at home for almost 10,000 patients.At St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, about 1600 patients have accessed the program.Mr Andrews said he had benefited from the program while recovering at home from a horror back injury he sustained after falling on wet stairs while holidaying on the Mornington Peninsula, in March last year.“I know from my own experience just how helpful getting care at home can be,” he said.“It makes treatment and recovery so much easier when you’re able to get personalised care brought directly to you, surrounded by your loved ones.“Giving more Victorians access to world-class healthcare in the comfort of their own homes not only means a more comfortable experience for many patients, but it’s also helping take the pressure off our hardworking frontline nurses, paramedics and doctors.”Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the home-based care programs are “great examples” of ways the tired health system is “adapting to meet increasing demand”.“We’re investing heavily to help reduce pressure on the health system amid the ongoing effects of the pandemic, winter respiratory illnesses like the flu, two years of deferred care and many sick healthcare workers,” she said.