Adapting and Growing
Home Palliative Service Sees Boost in Number of Referrals and Use of Telemedicine
In FY23-24, a record high of 959 number of referrals was received by our Home Care team – a 10% increase from FY22-21.
Since the launch of telemedicine within home palliative service in March 2020, we have successfully aided 770 unique patients and more than 2,000 cumulative encounters as of February 2024, an average of 12% of all monthly clinical visits. This occurred as a result of the Home Care team embracing the use of technology to augment and enhance the care experienced by patients and their caregivers without compromising on the quality of care. As our Home Care service continues to expand nationwide, we are committed to reaching our target of 20% of all monthly clinical visits of patients. As of 24 June 2024, we have reached 370 patients and we hope to cover 500 Home Care patients by 2025.
New
Programmes
Respite Care
As part of better and seamless care integration, we have also established a ‘Respite Care’ Model which allows Home Care Patients to attend our Daycare Centre if their caregivers need to be away for a few days.
We have also admitted Home Care patients into our Inpatient wards for up to 28 days when family members or helpers were away for a period of time.
DPH-TTSH Integrated Palliative Care Programme
DPH also worked closely with Tan Tock Seng Hospital in the Integrated Palliative Care Programme to expand DPH’s services to accept more TTSH patients (especially non-cancer patients) and for them to have greater and earlier access to home palliative care.
Combined Workgroups from the 2 institutions were formed to facilitate closer collaboration and earlier transfers of patients from TTSH to DPH and to allow DPH patients to continue to have access to specialist care from TTSH Visiting Consultants.
Pharmacy
Automations
In the last financial year, the Pharmacy team embarked on project planning and preparation for the implementation of our Pharmacy Automation initiatives.
All clinical team members were trained and assessed on their competency in operating this new system.
We also rolled out the use of an Automated Dispensing Cabinet (ADC) to streamline medication handling in our hospice by securely storing drugs, ensuring accurate dispensing and enhancing traceability.
In addition, we set up Integrated Care Hub pharmacy stores during our relocation for uninterrupted supply of medication for our patients.
