ELDERLY CHOOSING POST-OP CARE AT HOME

In the past year or so Miranda Smith Homecare has noticed an increase in the number of elderly returning home soon after operations and recovering there with assistance from carers. This is sometimes happening due to the need for faster throughput in a stretched public healthcare system, but there also appears to be an emerging generation of educated and independent people making their own decisions and choosing to return home early. While it’s generally the case that health professionals such as physiotherapists play the lead role in these recoveries, our private carers are playing an important support role in ensuring hospital re-admittances are avoided, and success rates in the past several months have been outstanding. Managing director Miranda Smith says in the Wellington region in particular, there has been a notable increase in requests for carer assistance relating to home recovery, and in the past 12 months there has been a 100 percent success rate with clients in terms of avoiding post operation complications and hospital re-admittances. Ms Smith says keeping elderly out of hospital is one of the goals of both standard home care, and home care involving recoveries from operations. She says it’s satisfying to see such a high level of success, and help take some pressure off a stretched healthcare system where every night in a hospital bed can cost the state thousands of dollars. It is becoming more and more apparent that people approaching old age are sorting out home care arrangements themselves, rather than relying on the state or other family members, and similar patterns are being seen overseas. An article from South Shore Home Health in the United States, canvassing opinions from industry leaders, says modern medicine has extended life expectancy, and there has been a growing desire and ability in recent years for elderly to remain at home longer. “Patients receiving post-acute care in the home often spend fewer days in the hospital than they did just 10 or 20 years ago,” one commentator said. “This means that patients leave the hospital sooner and require more rehabilitative care in the home.” The article says, like in New Zealand, the culture in the United States has changed as well, resulting in an increased desire for home care services. “Patients have become much more knowledgeable and sophisticated when it comes to their care.”