Source
r/perth•
feyth

COVID Care at Home programme suspended

Just a heads up that the WA Government is inexplicably winding up the COVID Care at Home programme at the end of the month.

This is the gold-standard programme caring for particularly vulnerable high-risk people: they deliver an oximeter, make daily phone calls with a medical/nursing professional, offer support and advice, deliver antivirals where necessary, and monitor for deterioration that might indicate hospital admission. They make sure risk of complications and death are minimised, and that isolated people don't just quietly die at home without help.

https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/A_E/Coronavirus/WA-COVID-Care-at-Home

Their suggestion now is that if you're high-risk and fall ill, you try to get in touch with your GP or specialist. So yeah, I guess, good luck with that.

Posted Nov 12, 2022, 3:54 AM UTC

9140
SubstantialAd861•

But then it takes you three weeks to an appointment with a GP…

44
Lokiberry316•

Add in the fact that most gp’s won’t allow you to attend if you are showing symptoms of respiratory infection and you got one helluva difficult time getting proper treatment. A telephone call doesn’t allow for blood pressure oxygen stats etc to be checked.

34
feythOP•

Oh pish, surely the EDs have a heap of available space and time to deal with people who need prompt clinical assessment for their high-risk COVID infection

22
WH1PL4SH180•

Iirc the service sends a pulseOx to you if you're at risk

-2
feythOP•

Until the service stops in a couple weeks.

7
VS2ute•

I bought an oximeter ages ago, when Delta was the bogeyman. I think it cost $70. Some people couldn't afford that.

4
FXOjafarAlkimos•

And then you need to find $70 up front to pay for it.

5
feythOP•

Yup.

3
vodkacruiser3000•

Is it really that shit in WA?

Here in Vic I can almost always get a same day appointment

1
feythOP•

If that's with your own doctor, that's a fairly unusual experience here.

5
SubstantialAd861•

My first choice of GP is usually booked out 5 weeks in advance. My second and third choice - about a week. Someone else from there, about 2 or 3 days. They do try to get young babies seen to on the day if a GP agrees to squeeze them in.

There are walk in clinics on some days of the week. I shouldn’t of bothered the day I went. Was pushed out the door in less than 5 minutes.

1
vodkacruiser3000•

That's absolutely insane. I thought WA was supposed to be rich

I guess doctors still prefer to live here even if they get paid more over there

1
feythOP•

GP funding is all Federal, via Medicare rebates and other incentives. Nothing to do with individual states. Medicare rebates have lagged behind CPI and way way behind costs for a very long time, and the specialty is less and less attractive to new graduates.

1
squeeowl•

Not a surprise, considering public PCR testing appears like it will be gone by the end of the month too - just one location left after this weekend.

37
Financial_Sentence95•

That's ridiculous. Case numbers are rising.

I've just used Covid at Home the past week. Pulse-ox was delivered, and they sorted the GP contacting me as a priority last Saturday morning and me getting onto the Antivirals quickly and easily

28
feythOP•

I'm glad you had a good experience with them, that's great. I've heard nothing but positive feedback.

8
BLaQz84•

How has your recovery been? I remember talking to you recently about it...

2
Financial_Sentence95•

Slow, but steady

I feel the antivirals helped quite a bit. Though the side effects of "the runs" and the foul lemon taste in my mouth 24/7 were both pretty awful. I'm glad I've finished my 5 day course now.

I know Covid for me just slammed straight onto my chest. It didn't muck around. I'm aware of what it might do for future reference, so I wouldn't hesitate to go onto Paxlovid again in the future

4
elemist•

Wow that seems a bit premature..

20
feythOP•

C'mon, it's not like people don't all have a competent doctor at their fingertips in this day and age!

</s> obv

6
Druuples•

Covid cases are rising (17% last week) now's the perfect time to end this... /s

19
BLaQz84•

What a wonderful way to help combat our already overworked hospitals /s

10
imthejb•

My MIL currently has it and is high risk. This program has been a god send for her. I can't imagine the risk factor for her if she got it after this wrapped up.

7
Tbearz•

I worked in Victorian equivalent Covid Positive Pathways and same process has occurred. The rationale is pandemic emergency settings are now returning to business as usual and covid is part of landscape and no longer deserves exceptionalism.

7
feythOP•

And this rationale is bullshit, head-in-the-sand hand-wavium.

7
elemist•

See the stupid thing is - with this logic, it should be going the other way.

Covid is now part of the landscape, so it would make logical sense to keep programs like this open and running long term as a way to deal with it.

7
FluffieOwlet•

I have used it twice for both of my covid infection (most recent just over 1 week ago) I also registered my elderly nan and disabled dad and stepmother when they got it also. It was a god send. They really cared and its a big shame it's been closed down.

7
GreenLurka•

Watch the ER explode

4
mykkpet•

That program was a godsend when I had covid a couple of months ago. One day I wasn't so flash I ended up getting 3 calls from them checking up on me, then they called me an ambulance and called ahead to warn the Gero ED I was coming and to give my history

4
feythOP•

Sounds like a fantastic service, glad you're ok

1
henry82•

While it sucks, I wonder how much it was utilised.

My parents have a good relationship with their GP and created a plan. When they did get C, Anti-viral script was sent to the chemist, and they literally tossed it in the back window of the car.

3†
feythOP•

That's nice that they have instant access to a doctor, and that they are there to care for and monitor each other. Many people don't have these things. Elderly women are the most likely demographic group to live alone.

21
ImpatientImp•

I know several people who used the service. They found it very useful. Without it I think it would of made the situation a lot more stressful and possibly dangerous.

12
feythOP•

From the govt's own press release:

"The program successfully monitored more than 17,000 Western Australians while minimising COVID-19 admissions to hospital emergency departments, with less than 4% of patients in the program requiring escalation to hospital."

11
Stickliketoffee16•

My mum actually used it & for her in her situation it was great! She was over here visiting me & we went to a concert at RAC - boom, Covid. It gave her a big peace of mind to be able to get the oximeter & speak to a medical professional since she was only visiting & didn’t have easy access to a GP! In saying that, I don’t know if it would’ve been widely utilised, I just know she appreciated it

4
ZebedeeAU•

Glad to hear that people's experiences with this program were positive.

For me it was the exact opposite and I ended up telling them (politely) where to stick it.

My experience was that I felt like I was being talked down to like I was some kind of imbecile incapable of making even basic decisions on my own, they asked a lot of what I considered stupid and intrusive questions (they admitted they were reading from a script and "I'm exactly the same as yesterday, no changes" wasn't an answer they were willing to accept) and I felt like there was a distinct lack of any kind of "care" despite the name of the program.

The end result was me telling them by the second day that I no longer wanted any further contact from them - and then I followed up with a complaint in writing to my local member of parliament. (Who was very good and followed up with the Minister and got me a written response. The response itself wasn't that useful but who knows, it just might cause them to do things differently / better in future based on my feedback.)

All in all it was very underwhelming. 2/10, would not recommend.

2
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
Specialist_Leg_92•

Good. Waste of taxpayers money

-17
elemist•

Spot on, if by total waste of tax payers money you mean an exceptionally well run program that has saved a bucket load in tax dollars by keeping people from having to seek incredibly expensive tax payer funded treatment at public hospitals..

12
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1