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DELIVERING HOSPITAL CARE IN
THE COMFORT OF HOME
KTPH@Home helps patients with acute but stable medical conditions, who would otherwise have been admitted to the hospital, to continue treatment at home, shortening their stay or avoiding hospitalisation altogether.
W
henever 91-yearold Mr Loh Sin Kok requires emergency attention or a hospitalisation stay for a flare up of his heart condition or other chronic conditions, he undergoes a high state of anxiety and frustration. His daughter, Mdm Loh Khee Chaw, shares similar feelings, making the experience a worrying and stressful one for the entire family. Recently, when he sought medical attention at KTPH, Mr Loh was able to avoid hospitalisation altogether. After being discharged directly from
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the Emergency Department (ED), he was able to continue treatment at home, monitored daily by a team of doctors and nurses under an initiative called KTPH@Home, overseen by Population Health and Community Transformation (PHCT). Dr Boh Toon Li, Consultant, Geriatric Medicine and clinician lead of the programme’s Geriatric Medicine track, explains that this doctor-led multidisciplinary programme was started in May 2019, where patients recruited were predominantly above 80 years old and moderately frail. This care model has multiple benefits. “During
a hospital stay, geriatric patients who are frail are at higher risk of functional decline, acquiring another infection and becoming confused in an unfamiliar environment,” she explains. “Being able to recover at home can help reduce the risk of such complications.” Mdm Loh shares that being able to continue her father’s hospital treatment at home was very convenient. Usually, she says, she worries about hospital visiting hours, her father’s diet and missing out on doctor’s updates after their ward rounds. As for Mr Loh, he found that being able to recover at home was