Skip to main content
Home
  • The Legislative Assembly meets on 16/04/2024 (01:00 PM)
    Assembly sit 16/04/2024
  • The Legislative Council meets on 16/04/2024 (01:00 PM)
    Council sit 16/04/2024
  • The Public Administration meets on 08/04/2024 (10:00 AM)
    Committee meet 08/04/2024

Parliamentary Questions


Question Without Notice No. 653 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 26 October 2022 by Mr S.N. Aubrey

Parliament: 41 Session: 1

FROM HOSPITAL TO HOME DISABILITY SUPPORT TRANSITION PILOT PROGRAM

653. Mr S.N. AUBREY to the Minister for Health:

My in-depth question is to the Minister for Health. I refer to the McGowan Labor government's record investment in our health system and its commitment to address the challenges facing our hospitals. Can the minister update the house on the From Hospital to Home disability support transition pilot program and outline how this will help alleviate capacity pressures in our hospitals?

Ms A. SANDERSON replied:

I thank the member for Scarborough for his question. I am very happy to talk about this fantastic initiative that is fully funded by the state government.

Many times we have discussed some of the programs in place to relieve pressure on our hospitals when aged care and disability are not picking up the slack that they need to. We have explored, and continue to explore, a range of issues that create pressure in our hospitals and to ensure that people can be discharged when they are medically well. Hospitals are not the right place for people who are medically fit for discharge.

One of the initiatives was launched in February. The From Hospital to Home pilot essentially allows patients to be discharged from an acute setting into more appropriate accommodation. I was able to visit, with the federal Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Bill Shorten, last week, the first 12-bed facility, which was established by Hall and Prior. It is an entirely separate facility from its aged-care facilities and it is a great facility. We got to talk to the residents there. Some had been in there for a few weeks and some for only a few days. People have the ability to get out of an acute setting, whether it is an acute mental health or an acute general ward in a tertiary hospital, and into a more liveable environment where they are rehabilitated to live their lives and do the cooking, cleaning and all the things that are really, really challenging to do when they have been in a hospital for months and months on end, particularly in a mental health setting.

Just those 12 beds have saved 3 707 bed days since operating—just those 12 beds. Because it is so successful, we have just opened a second From Hospital to Home pilot, which is a six-bed facility in Coolbinia. We are exploring other options—maybe a third and fourth. It was great to invite the federal minister there and, of course, we would welcome the federal government's financial participation in this pilot, because, ultimately, this is a holding pattern for people while they are having their NDIS plan sorted out. To get through the backlog and get a plan can take months and months, so this is a more appropriate setting for those clients. They have already been approved to get a plan and whilst the plan is being established and all the supports are being put in place, they are in the From Hospital to Home setting and they transition with all those supports. All those supports go with them to their new home setting to, hopefully, keep them out of hospital and in more appropriate accommodation. It is fantastic. I spoke to one young guy who had spent seven months in Graylands Hospital and had been out for about two days about the relief that that he felt coming into this transition care, as opposed to just being discharged straight out. He will have three months to be supported to be living independently again after what has been a really significant mental health episode for him. It is a great program. We will continue to save our hospital bed hours by rolling out more of these programs.