Training and Support Programs
These programs provide the support required for safe access to environments such as school, kinder and early intervention, for children with medical care needs.
Homecare Program
The Homecare Program (HCP) enables children and adolescents (0–18 years) with ongoing interventional medical care needs to be safely cared for in their own environment. Nursing staff, in consultation with the child/adolescent’s parents and doctor, provide child/adolescent-specific training, monitoring and support for a small group of support workers to provide care in the home.
Referrals
Individuals or agencies wishing to access the Homecareprogram (HCP) services make a referral directly to the
RCH@Home team who then distribute the referral to the appropriate local Homecare services provider. Referrals can be received from either within the acute care hospital setting or from the community (e.g. case managers,day care, families). Referrals must be supported by a confirmed funding source, prior to consideration for acceptance. All referrals undergo a preliminary assessment completed by a Liaison Nurse to determine their appropriateness for the Homecare program and to clarify the child/adolescent’s care needs. This is done in consultation with the referrer and the child/adolescent’s parents and primary medical practitioner.
Quotes and agreements
Once a referral is accepted the Liaison Nurse is then responsible for producing a quote and sending it to the agency that is funding the program. Once the quote is approved in writing all parties in the Homecare process sign an agreement outlining their roles and responsibilities. There are two agreements in total; one between the HCP and the support worker’s agency/employer, and the other between the HCP, parents and primary medical practitioner(s).
Formal assessment
The Homecare Nurse completes a comprehensive assessment of the child/adolescent. This is done in conjunction with the child/adolescent’s primary medical practitioner(s) and parents/guardians. The assessment incorporates medical care requirements, emotional, developmental and social needs. If at any stage the Homecare Nurse identifies that the child/adolescent’s health status is unsuitable for the care to be delivered by trained support workers they will notify the referrer who will be responsible for making other arrangements for the provision of care.
Child-specific care manual
A child-specific care manual will be developed by the child/adolescent’s assigned Homecare Nurse in conjunction with the child/adolescent’s family and will be approved by the child/adolescent’s primary medical practitioner(s).
Implementation and training
Once the care manual is complete and the training program devised, training of the support workers will commence. (The support workers are selected by the case manager and agency they are sourced through).
The Homecare Nurse will liaise with the child’s parents and the support workers employer to determine times
and dates for training. Ongoing monitoring and support is an important component of the Homecare Program. The Homecare Nurse is responsible for repeating the support worker’s assessment, initially at six weeks post first assessment and then on a six monthly basis.
Reviews and changes in care needs
The Homecare manual is under regular review by the Homecare Nurse, parents and practitioners to ensure that the care provided continues to safely meet the needs of the child/adolescent and their family. If there is a change in care required at any point, the Care Manual for that child needs to be updated to reflect these changes and the support workers will need to have their training updated.
Children/adolescents who live in rural areas
The Homecare Program is a state-wide program. If the child/adolescent lives in a rural area the Homecare Program services may be outsourced to an external service provider, however the same model of care will be followed.
School Care Program
Nursing staff in consultation with the child/adolescent’s parents, doctor and school provide child-specific training, monitoring and support for staff selected by the school to be carers for the child/adolescent.
The Schoolcare Program is for children/adolescents who would not be able to attend school without specific medical interventions being performed and where training for these interventions is required.
The program is governed by The Department of Early Education and Childhood Development and run by RCH@Home.
Referrals
The Department of Early Education and Childhood Development (DEECD) release a current referral form annually. This can be downloaded from their website. The referral has three sections. One must be completed by the school, one by the family and one by the child/adolescent’s treating physician.
DEECD forward all referrals to RCH@Home so that eligibility for the Schoolcare Program can be determined, then families and schools will be contacted and notified of the outcome.
NB: Children who attend Catholic schools must complete a separate referral form, which can be accessed via the Catholic Education Office.
Schoolcare Program levels
The child/adolescent if eligible for the program will either be Level 1 or Level 2 of the program.
Level 1: for children/adolescents who have intermittent healthcare requirements.
Level 2: for children/adolescents who have regular, stable or predictably unstable healthcare need requirements.
Child-specific care manual
A child-specific care manual will be developed by nursing staff in conjunction with the child/adolescent’s family and will be approved by the child/adolescent’s primary medical practitioner(s). For children/adolescents who are on Level 1 of the program, a child-specific management plan will be developed.
Training
Level 1: An education session run by a registered nurse will be conducted with the staff who will be having the most to do with your child/adolescent. The management plan will be covered in this training.
Six weeks later a nurse will attend the school and meet with the staff to see if the management plan is working well. The child/adolescent will then be discharged from the Schoolcare Program.
Level 2: Up to four school staff will be allocated by the school as the main carers of the child/adolescent. These carers will receive theoretical and practical training from a registered nurse.
Assessments
Level 1: School staff are not assessed for children/ adolescents who are on this level of the program.
Level 2: Once the practical training is finished, the school staff who are caring for the child/adolescent will complete an assessment. The assessment consists of basic life support, choking management, performing the practical cares independently and a written test. Six weeks later the staff are re-assessed with the practical cares and basic life support and choking management.
Six months later (in the second half of the school year) staff are reassessed with the practical cares, basic life support and choking management and a written test.
Eligibility period
A referral is valid for twelve months. At the end of each school year a new referral is required for the following school year. The child/adolescent may maintain the same school staff as carers that they have had the previous school year. If this is the case, the school staff who are caring for your child do not need to complete the entire training process again. They will complete a refresher training session conducted by a registered nurse and then complete an assessment, both at the start of the school year, as well as their regular six month assessment in the second half of the school year.
Change in care needs
If the child/adolescent’s care needs change throughout the school year please contact the Schoolcare Program Co-ordinator so that their manuals can be updated and school staff can be provided with extra training if required.
If the child is re-referred to the program their care manuals/management plans will be updated annually by the Schoolcare Program Co-ordinator.
Children/adolescents who live in rural areas
The Schoolcare Program is a state-wide program. If the child/adolescent lives in a rural area the Schoolcare Program services may be outsourced to an external service provider, however the same model of care will be followed.
