Caring For Patients Beyond Hospital Limits
Being bedridden or burdened with limited mobility is not really a pleasant experience. Be it due to age, accident or illness the experience can take its toll on the strongest of people and especially on the ones who are fiercely independent and have lived life on their own terms all their life. Having to suddenly depend on another person even for the smallest of tasks can be quite an irritant. Elderly people passing through their twilight years are particularly sensitive to these situations. Matters can get worse emotionally and physically if they have no family or sufficient money to support them through their time of need. Furthermore, prolonged hospital stays are not only expensive, they are not a welcome solution for many people who would prefer to be cared for within the comforts of their own home.
Having witnessed such situations that put everyone involved in a dilemma, well known hospitals such as the Changi General Hospital based in Singapore have come upon a novel way of reaching out to those who may need assistance during or post hospitalization. The hospital has initiated a welfare program for patients called HomeCare Assist. Through this program, patients are provided with the required post hospitalization assistance for a short duration, wherein the basic necessities such as special mattresses, food as recommended based on illness, adult nappies etc are taken care of. The program also ensures that assistance does not cease once the term specified ends. Where required the program also puts patients in touch with social workers and other charitable institutions that offer long term assistance and home care to ensure that the patient receives the required care for as long as it is felt necessary. Initiatives such as these ensure that the emotional well being of the patient is kept in mind, where he or she is not burdened by petty details and this in turn might actually contribute in some way to better recovery.
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