A new phone monitoring program which calls vulnerable South Australians with COVID-19 twice a day is ensuring those in our community who require additional support have everything they need to isolate safely at home.
The new program is thanks to an extra $2.3 million of funding given to Wellbeing SA by the Marshall Liberal Government.
Premier Steven Marshall said the COVID Home Telephone Monitoring Program from Wellbeing SA is supporting the work of the COVID Response Care Team (CRCT) in monitoring more vulnerable members of the community with COVID-19.
"As more South Australians become infected with COVID the research shows at least 95% of them can complete their 10 days of isolation safely at home," Premier Marshall said.
"This new phone monitoring program will assist those people who require a bit more support at home while doing the right thing and isolating to protect the health of other South Australians.
"The program is not only monitoring a person's overall health and wellbeing but also their ability to access food, medication, and other vital services, providing advice and assistance where necessary."
"In addition to the new phone service, Wellbeing SA will further fortify our strong pandemic response and begin admitting patients to My Home Hospital who are also COVID-19 positive, providing hospital-level care from the comfort of a patient's home," Premier Marshall said.
Wellbeing SA Chief Executive, Lyn Dean, said people are being referred to the COVID Home Telephone Monitoring Program after an initial health and wellbeing assessment from CRCT.
"The program takes referrals from CRCT, who assess whether a person is more at risk of becoming unwell in their isolation period or may be more vulnerable," Ms Dean said.
"They will then receive a detailed health assessment over the phone through the program and typically two phone calls a day to make sure they have everything they need to safely isolate in the community for the duration of their isolation period.
"People who develop a clinical concern that cannot be managed in their home or require urgent clinical review will be escalated back to the CRCT team for management and closer monitoring."
