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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecareathome.com, where we provide tailor-made solutions for long-term ventilated adults and children with tracheostomies. And where we also provide tailor-made solutions for hospitals and intensive care units, whilst providing quality services for long-term ventilated patients and medically complex patients at home, including Home TPN (total parenteral nutrition), Home BIPAP (bilevel positive airway pressure), Home CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), but also for patients who are not ventilated and have a tracheostomy. And we also provide Home TPN services. We look after central lines, PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) lines, Hickman’s lines, port catheter and we are also providing now home potassium infusions as well.
So in today’s video, I also want to open up a new service that we have been providing for a few months now. And I believe, again, it brings innovation into the home and it improves quality of life and in some instances, quality of end of life for patients and their families. And they don’t have to stay in hospitals.
Today, I want to focus on talking about nasogastric tubes at home. Again, historically, nasogastric tubes could have only been managed and looked after in hospitals where you have team of doctors, nurses around that can manage a nasogastric tube. Well, what’s a nasogastric tube?
Nasogastric tube is a tube in the nose where patients can have nutrition, for patients that can’t eat orally or can’t eat enough, they need nutrition through the nasogastric tube that goes into the stomach.
Now, historically, the risks that have been associated with nasogastric tubes is dislodgement, displacement, aspiration, food going into the lungs instead of the stomach. Having really catastrophic outcomes or can lead to catastrophic outcomes such as aspiration pneumonia, intubation, ICU admission and so forth.
Now, we have been looking after nasogastric tubes at home now for the last few months with much success. But you do need a critical care nurse at home who knows how to manage a nasogastric tube safely. How to check the position, how to make sure that when nutrition or water is going in, that it goes into the stomach and not into the lungs. And that again takes the skill of a registered nurse to make that happen.
Now, more importantly, we have been taking pressure off emergency departments because a lot of patients at home with the nasogastric tube, not that there are many, but there are certainly some. Again, they might displace the nasogastric tube, they might pull it out here and there.
Now, obviously it’s the job of our nurses to make sure they’re not pulling it out. However, there is a risk that this is happening. Other things with the nasogastric tubes at home needs to happen is, it needs to be changed every four weeks. So that it’s not getting leaks or it’s not getting infected, so it needs to be changed every four weeks. And again, we have been doing that successfully at home.
Now, also, there are now also home x-ray services because once again, nasogastric tube is placed or replaced, it needs to be followed up with a chest X ray, making sure and confirming that the nasogastric tube is in the right position. Again, eliminating the risk for aspiration and food going into the lungs.
So shout out to Michael Montalto and his team from the Home X-ray Imaging service in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. He’s been doing a great job in providing us with home x-rays for our clients, including the ones that need x-ray for a nasogastric tube reinsertion.
And I mean, from our perspective, it’s not more difficult than looking after a ventilated or tracheostomy patient, I’m looking after nasogastric tubes, but it does need similar levels of risk assessment, risk management. It’s actually easier compared to someone on a ventilator with a tracheostomy. However, it still needs, significant 24-hour nursing skills at home to keep patients at home safely. So, just a new innovation where we are again, making a big difference by taking patients home out of ICU, out of hospitals, bypassing the emergency department.
As a matter of fact, part of what we do with nasogastric tubes at home is bypassing ED for the Western Sydney local area health district. We are changing nasogastric tubes there in people’s homes and sometimes in nursing homes as well.
So I hope that helps.
And if you have a loved one in intensive care and you want to go home, whether it’s with ventilation, tracheostomy, nasogastric tube, whatever it is, there’s really nothing we can’t do at home. Or if they’re long-term ventilated BiPAP, CPAP ventilation, tracheostomy, if they have a long-term tracheostomy, nasogastric tube at home, please contact us.
And if you are an NDIS Support Coordinator or an NDIS Special Support Coordinator, and you’re looking for nursing care for some of your participants, especially when it comes to the issues that we just spoke about, please contact us here at Intensive Care at Home.
If you’re unsure about NDIS nursing care funding, please contact us as well. We can help you with the advocacy and NDIS nursing assessments as well.
And if you are a critical care nurse and you’re looking for a career change, please contact us. We are looking for critical care nurses with a minimum of two years ICU, pediatric ICU or ED experience. Ideally with postgraduate critical care qualifications in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Also now in Albury, Wodonga on the New South Wales, Victorian border.
Like I mentioned, we are currently providing an emergency bypass service for the Western Sydney local area health district in New South Wales. So we can help your ED, we can help your ICU as well by keeping your ICU and ED beds empty by sending our critical care nurses into the home.
Now, we are also an NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), TAC (Transport Accident Commission) in Victoria, iCare in New South Wales, NIISQ (National Injury Insurance Scheme in Queensland), as well as DVA (Department of Veteran Affairs) approved service provider in Australia. We’re operating all around the country in all major capital cities as well as in rural and regional areas as well.
We also offer level 2 and level 3 NDIS support coordinations now. Our NDIS Support Coordinator, Jessica, has experience with rapid hospital discharges for NDIS participants, but she also has experience with TAC and other insurance bodies.
Now, if you like my videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for families in intensive care and Intensive Care at Home. Click the like button, click the notification bell, share the video with your friends and families and comment below what you want to see next or what questions and insights you have.
Thanks for watching.
This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecareathome.com, and I will talk to you soon.
Take care for now.