Heartfelt thanks for home care

HUSBAND and wife Clem and Lyn Bell consider themselves fortunate.

After the Eaglehawk couple were recently diagnosed on separate occasions with heart failure, they were approached by Bendigo Health to join the pilot of its care at home initiative known as Heart Helper.

Heart Helper was developed to provide education, goal setting and self-management plans to allow suitable patients to remain at home after being discharged from hospital.

Results from the pilot showed that 30-day readmission rates fell significantly to 14 per cent from 30 per cent.

With the Bells a case in point, patient feedback said many also felt empowered and supported.

Mrs Bell was admitted to hospital in June 2023 and eventually diagnosed with heart failure.

“Just before I (was discharged) I had a lovely lady come and say she’d like to send someone around to visit after I got home,” she said.

“The girls were fantastic. They kept coming until I was satisfied that everything was going alright again. Without them I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

Mr Bell, who described himself as having had “a turn” earlier this year, also gave nothing but praise for the program.

“Any queries I had, they always came up with an answer,” he said.

“They were tremendous. I’d like to see a lot more funding poked into it to get it bigger and better.”

Project lead Carmel Bourne said at its core, Heart Helper is all about making sure people understand the reasons behind their own treatment.

“If they understand why, they’re more adherent and it works a lot better,” she said.

“That’s what we do. We make sure people feel at ease with what they’re doing and we give them that advice.”

The program has since been extended with enrolled nurses now conducting the visits.