“We know older people can get sicker in hospital, because they are in
bed all the time, they are exposed to hospital-acquired infections, and they are not being cared for by familiar people.
“Unless they absolutely need to be there, we want to keep them in their home and flourishing in their own environment.”
RIR facilitates an extensive list of services that enable clinically deteriorating residents to remain on-site, including wound and infection management, medication monitoring/titration, oxygen therapy, falls assessments and delirium screening.
The CNCs are well supported by nurse practitioners and a geriatrician.
“The referral order should be: try the GP first, then RIR, then Victoria Virtual Emergency Department, then transfer to an emergency department if required,” Ms Leibling said.
“Our highly qualified and experienced CNCs assess the residents, then use their clinical judgement to offer advice to staff or make plans for them to follow on site.”
Before his appointment, Mr Vidal was nurse unit manager and infection control lead at Grampians Health Edenhope.
He will offer virtual and face-to-face RIR services to public and private facilities across western Victoria.
“I am really excited and motivated to make this program work,” he said.
“We want people to be comfortable, not having to be transferred or waiting a long time for care; I know this will make a big difference.”
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