Home nursing for quick healing

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: Feb 12 is a date Susan Ngew, 48, will never forget. She was walking towards her parked car after Sunday mass on that fateful day this year when a Proton Saga crashed into her and pinned her to a stationary vehicle.
Both her legs were fractured and there was a gaping wound on her body. She was hospitalised for seven weeks.
"I was depressed and desperately wanted to go home even though my wounds had not healed," she said.
That was when her doctor referred her to a home nursing service.
More doctors are discharging their patients early from hospital and recommending that they receive care at home.
This service is suitable for patients who are recovering, but whose wounds may need to be cleaned and dressed, or whose injuries require physiotherapy.
"Home nursing can help to reduce medical costs for the patient and frees up hospital beds for very ill patients," said Sunway Medical Centre consultant orthopaedic and trauma surgeon Dr Hyzan Mohd Yusof.
Dr Hyzan, who refers 15 per cent of his patients to home nursing agencies for post-surgical care, said patients could receive better treatment at home as it is more comfortable and hygienic as there is a lower risk of in-house hospital infections.
Nurses At Home is one of the agencies providing such services and the business is flourishing.
Managing director Asok Nair said three years ago there were only requests for 10 to 20 home visits a month. Today, it has increased to 200 to 300 visits.
He attributed the growing demand to the affluence of Malaysians and the knowledge that they had the option of either being treated by doctors in hospitals or being taken care of in the comfort of their homes.
The agency’s charges range from RM65 to RM100 per home visit, depending on the care a patient needs.
Asok said hospital stays cost RM200 to RM400 a day, excluding intangible charges, such as a doctor’s fee to see a patient.
"We bring the treatment to the home as it is a better place for recovery and, of course, cheaper."
Ngew has been using the service for the past five months as she is being cared for by a nurse from the agency, Tan Soh Cheng.
"The first few months, I was in low spirits. I thought I would become disabled.
"Tan’s visits mean a lot to me. She gives me encouragement and the assurance that I will become normal again," she said.
"She is also very gentle and professional when cleaning and dressing my wounds and massaging my legs. We have become friends."
Siah Chee Teck, president of Home Care Connection, also reported growing demand for his agency’s home nursing services.
"Three years ago, there were about 200 patients under our care. Now we have more than 1,000 patients."
He related the case of a 16-year-old stroke victim who was referred to his agency. Initially, the girl was bed-ridden and could not swallow or utter a word.
Siah said that after six months of physiotherapy and exercises at home, the girl was able to walk slowly. She was fully recovered in eight months.
Hospis Malaysia, the charitable organisation for palliative care, started in 1992 with 44 patients. In 2003, it received 762 new cases and made about 600 home visits each month.
The number of its patients is expected to reach 1,150 by the end of this year.
Hospis Malaysia chief executive officer and medical director Dr Ednin Hamzah said the increase in patients is due to growing awareness of the organisation. It receives two to three referrals from hospitals every day.
One of its patients is a man suffering from fourth stage lung cancer.
"He was diagnosed in April and we cannot do much for him except make him comfortable and ease his pain," said Hospis Malaysia nurse Faezah Ali.
"I prescribe his medication and guide the private nurse in taking care of him. I also comfort him and his wife."
Another attraction of home nursing is that there is less disruption to the lives of family members.
"With a nurse going to their home, patients’ family members don’t lose working hours ferrying them to and from hospital," said Dr Tunku Nor Taayah Tunku Zubir, a consultant rehabilitation physician at Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre.