AKUH's Home-based Nursing Care Goes Beyond Campus

In its efforts towards providing greater quality care for patients, AKUH has initiated home-based nursing services in 2002. Through these services, the Hospital aims to extend nursing care to its patients in their homes after they are discharged.

Home-based nursing requires staff trained in special and basic emergency procedures.

These services are based on the concept of Home Health Programme that has evolved as a challenging and rapidly   growing field, catering more extensively to the needs of patients by continuing to provide them care beyond the  hospital setting. It is a concept of nursing care that has emerged with the recent economic, social and technological  development.

Launched as a pilot project for a selected group of patients, the AKUH Home Health Programme has expanded into other areas near the Hospital following an overwhelming response from patients and their families. The range of care offered in the pilot project includes administration of intravenous medications, nebulizer as well as change of dressings. One of the key benefits of this programme is that it reduces stress and agitation in patients, and spares them and their families the hassle of going all the way to the hospital for minor procedures.

The patients appreciate that the home-based nursing services have not only obviated the need to wait at the hospitals but have also proven to be cost-effective as they reduce the patient's length of stay at the hospital.

"My post-surgery period was not a pleasant experience, but AKUH's nursing care provided to me at home helped me overcome the problem of frequenting the hospital," remarks Fiza, a patient who underwent surgery. The programme requires supporting staff to work closely with the patient's physician in an efficient and cost-effective manner. As dealing with the patients in their homes is quite different from tending them at the hospital, the staff working in this programme has been trained in special and basic emergency procedures.

With these services in place, AKUH envisages continuous improvement and additions of other services to the programme, all with a view to providing the best possible care to its patients and their families.