Hospitalisation of people living in disability supported accommodation services

Summary information for disability support workers

Be prepared for hospital admissions
/ Keep a current completed Hospital admission information form in each resident’s health file that can be accessed quickly if the need for hospitalisation arises.
Hospital admission- planned and unplanned
/
Disability support workers must:
  • support the person to understand the reason for admission and what to expect to the best of their ability
  • inform the person’s family of the admission where appropriate
  • ensure all relevant documentation is current, complete and provided to the hospital
  • accompany the person to the hospital and bring all items they will require.
If the admission is unplanned, accompany the person to hospital where possible. If not possible, arrange for another disability support worker to meet the person at the hospital and provide all relevant documentation to ambulance staff.
Support during admission
/ If the person has difficulty with communication, demonstrate how the person communicates to relevant hospital staff.Stay with the person until the admission is finalised and support the person to settle.
Support that should NOT be provided
/ During a hospital stay the hospital is responsible for the health and safety of the person. Hospital staff are responsible for all direct support roles. Disability support workers should not provide the following support:
  • bathing or showering
  • administering medications
  • assistance with eating, drinking or PEG feeding
  • mobility
  • performance of specific health procedures

Discharge planning
/ During the hospital stay disability support workers must:
  • try to keep up to date with the expected discharge date
  • ensure staffing and transport is arranged for discharge
  • if it appears hospital staff have not already done so, ask hospital staff to ensure post discharge strategies are in place for support including:
  • new medications, aids or equipment
  • disability support worker training in specific health procedures, for example catheter, PEG or colostomy management
  • arrangements are made with community medical and nursing services, such as the Royal District Nursing Service or palliative care services, if required.

Summary information for hospital staff

Providing care for people from disability supported accommodation
/ This form contains information to help hospital staff provide care for a person from disability accommodation services. People living in disability accommodation services have a greater risk of complications during and after admission compared to the general population.
Disability supported accommodation services are usually small group homes
/ In disability supported accommodation services, there are generally between four and six people with a disability living in a shared home. Residents are supported by one or two disability support workers who work on a rostered basis. Occasionally casual staff may provide support and not all staff have the same knowledge of a resident’s needs.
Hospital admission- planned and unplanned / If a Hospital admissioninformationformis provided by disability support workers upon admission, ensure this is used and stored on the person’s file. If a form is not provided, hospital staff may wish to use the template found in Hospitalisation of people living in disability supported accommodation services. A guide for hospital staff and disability support workers.
Disability support workers cannot provide direct personal care roles while the person is in hospital.
Disability support workers can perform some procedures if trained
/ Disability support workers are not employed to work as medical or health workers. They are not expected, or able, to provide general nursing care. When appropriately trained, disability support workers can perform the following procedures:
  • enemas and suppositories
/
  • nebulisers and vaporisers

  • tube feeding
/
  • blood glucose testing

  • catheter care
/
  • shallow suctioning

  • administer medication via set dose injector pen such as Epipen
/
  • administer medication from Blister packs

  • oxygen administration

Disability support workers CANNOT perform some procedures
/ Disability support workers cannot perform the following under any circumstances:
  • administer medication by intramuscular or intravenous injection
  • insert or remove PEG tubes or catheters
  • monitor or manage intravenous lines and attachments
  • managing sliding scale diabetes.
If residents need specific health support that disability support workers are not trained in or able to provide support should be provided by relevant community-based services as for other members of the community. This may include services such as Royal District Nursing Service or local community health services. Support staff cannot provide consent under any circumstance.
Discharge planning is critical / Thorough discharge planning is critical for patients living in disability supported accommodation services. Where available, the GP Liaison Officer should facilitate communication with the person’s GP. A comprehensive discharge plan should be provided to disability support staff and the patient’s GP which includes:
  • date of follow up visit to GP and/or Specialist
  • altered physical care needs: bathing, dressing, incontinence management
  • medication changes
  • dietary requirements or changes to dietary regime
  • post discharge visits to or by community nurse, doctor or other professional
  • amount of mobility and amount of rest required
  • review or end dates for all of the above.
Also at discharge:
  • the patient’s medication record should be updated by the hospital doctor
  • any new aids or equipment required must be arranged
  • training for any new health support procedures, for example catheter, PEG or colostomy management, must be arranged for disability support staff. If staff are not able to perform the procedures, support from relevant community-based health services must be arranged to perform these procedures.

Department of Human Services