Aged care residents living in the Shoalhaven region will now be able to access in-home clinical support as the Minns Labor Government's specialist Aged Care Outreach Service reaches a new milestone.
This next milestone will see the Aged Care Outreach Service expand across the Shoalhaven region.
The service has now commenced in seven residential facilities in the Shoalhaven with a progressive roll out to include all 14 facilities in the region by the end of the year.
The Aged Care Outreach Service has been in place in the Illawarra for more than two years and is part of the Government's ongoing work to deliver better health services for South Coast communities.
The specialised aged care program works to ease pressure on busy emergency departments and hospitals by providing direct intervention to those living in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs) with certain conditions.
The service not only works to avoid hospital trips for vulnerable patients, but also enables RACH residents to access timely, effective assessment, and appropriate clinical care in the comfort of their home.
In the past two years, the Aged Care Outreach Service has received almost 4,000 referrals to the Illawarra service, with more than 3,380 patients able to be cared for in their home setting.
Patients are referred to the outreach service by their RACH or NSW Ambulance. From there, the service links them with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, including registered nurses, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse consultants, and a geriatrician who provide the care they need.
Those with more serious conditions, who cannot be managed within the home are transported to hospital.
The expansion of the Aged Care Outreach Service to the Shoalhaven community builds on the work already done by the Minns Labor Government to rebuild health services in the Illawarra and South Coast after twelve years of neglect under the Liberals, including:
- making permanent the over 1,100 nurses the former Liberal Government planned to sack - 61 of whom worked to care for South Coast communities
- recruiting an additional 43 FTE nurses for Shellharbour and Shoalhaven Hospitals' emergency departments to ensure Safe Staffing Levels - one of the most significant reforms in the way our hospitals have been staffed in decades
- passing legislation to ban any future privatisation of acute public hospitals, so the Liberals can never again sell them off
- abolishing the Liberal Government's wages cap to deliver better pay and conditions to essential workers, while the Liberal Party refuse to rule out its reintroduction
- reaching an interim agreement to pay public sector nurses more, which means 56,000 FTE nurses - including 3,097 FTE in Illawarra Shoalhaven will now see:
- an increase to night shift penalties
- work-life balance and conditions improvements
- an interim pay rise
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park:
"I am delighted to see such a terrific program now available to residential aged care residents in the Shoalhaven.
"It builds on the tremendous results in Illawarra where 85 per cent of older people seen by the program were able to receive the care they needed at home, without having to attend a hospital emergency department via ambulance.
"The Minns Labor Government is committed to making it easier for people to access the care they need and deserve.
"This model not only provides faster care to people in living in aged care, but also helps maintain their independence and wellbeing by enabling them to remain in an environment that is more comfortable and familiar."
Quotes attributable to Labor Candidate for Kiama, Katelin McInerney
"It's wonderful to see this program expanded into the Shoalhaven, where specialist clinicians can now attend residential aged care facilities and provide direct intervention to those with acute illness.
"By reducing the number of aged care residents being transferred to hospital, this service is also enabling emergency department staff to focus on patients who require more complex emergency care.
"This expanded support will make a huge difference to people living in residential aged care in the Shoalhaven region, ensuring they can access high-quality, timely treatment"
