For Patients and Visitors
What is the Service?
Rehabilitation in the Home (RITH) provides a home based service to clients. Based at the Northern Hospital the aim of the program is to be able to get clients home sooner from hospital and to provide appropriate services to the client in their own home.
Rehab in the Home provides services to clients who have presented to The Northern Hospital Epping Emergency Department, Short Stay Unit or Acute Assessment Unit and require therapy at home to facilitate safe discharge home. It also provides services to patients who have undergone elective orthopaedic surgery at The Northern Hospital Epping.
What can I expect from the service?
The RITH team includes Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Nursing. The RITH team will provide services in the home for up to 3-4 weeks. Following this, if further therapy is needed, clients will be referred to an appropriate service.
What do I bring/need for my appointment?
Appointment occurs in your home.
How much does it cost?
- No cost to Rehab in the Home service.
- If client is referred onto additional Community Therapy Services there may be a fee incurred of $5-10 per visit.
- If client is ineligible for Medicare the referral for the service will need to be reviewed by management
Contact us
For any enquiries please contact Community Access on 9495 3443
For Health Professionals
Service/Clinic overview
Rehabilitation in the Home (RITH) provides a home based service to clients. There are two divisions of RITH – E-RITH and O-RITH. Based at the Northern Hospital the aim of the program is to be able to get clients home sooner from hospital and to provide appropriate services to the client in their own home. The RITH team includes Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, and Nursing. The RITH team will provide services in the home for up to 3-4 weeks. Following this, if further therapy is needed, clients will be referred to an appropriate service.
Rehab in the Home – Emergency (E-RITH) provides services to clients who have presented to The Northern Hospital Emergency Department, Short Stay Unit or Acute Assessment Unit and require therapy at home to facilitate safe discharge home. E-RITH would see:
- Clients with presentation to ED / ward post fall/s with/without injury assessed as at risk
- Clients where there concerns re management at home are identified at/prior to discharge and who are medically unable or unsafe to access centre based services – may include
- Dizziness/Vertigo
- Post TIA
- Acute-on-chronic musculoskeletal conditions (including Lower Back Pain) with significant limitations to function and or mobility
- Those requiring a review of safety in mobility, ADL’S in the home environment
- Clients with primarily home based goals, eg. use internal steps, walk to letter box, contextual ADL retraining that require rapid access to services to prevent representation to emergency
- Occupational therapists in ERITH will also provide therapy to clients referred from The Northern Hospital who have short term home based rehabilitation goals to facilitate early discharge.
Rehab in the Home – Orthopaedic (O-RITH) provides services to clients who have undergone orthopaedic surgery at The Northern Hospital to facilitate early discharge Clients who have undergone elective lower limb joint surgery are the predominant group seen within this stream and other orthopaedic clients where early discharge is enabled – may also be eligible for RITH.
What can be provided?
Rehab in the Home – Emergency (E-RITH)
Provides services to patients who have presented to The Northern Hospital Epping Emergency Department, Short Stay Unit or Acute Assessment Unit and require therapy at home to facilitate safe discharge home. The E-RITH team includes Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. The service provided is time limited for up to 3 weeks and is a home based service
Rehab in the Home – Orthopaedic (O-RITH)
Provides services to patients who have undergone elective orthopaedic surgery at The Northern Hospital. Clients are identified at the pre-admission clinic and will be discharged home early with RITH support. Clients who have undergone elective lower limb joint surgery are the predominant group seen within this stream The O-RITH team includes Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Nursing. The service provided is time limited for up to 3 weeks and is a home based service.
Inclusion criteria:
E-RITH:
- Presentation to ED post fall/s with/out injury and assessed as at risk
- Concerns regarding management at home at or prior to discharge and are medically unable or unsafe to access centre based services. Such conditions may include: Dizziness/Vertigo, Post TIA, Acute on chronic musculoskeletal conditions such as lower back pain with significant limitations to function and or mobility
- Requiring a review of safety in mobility
- Clients with primarily home based functional goals to prevent representation to emergency
- Living within Northern catchment
O-RITH:
- Lower limb elective surgery at The Northern
- Identified at pre-admission clinic as appropriate for ORITH services
- Living within Northern catchment
Exclusion criteria:
E-RITH:
- From external services including hospitals
- Where safety issues are identified do complete home based therapy
O-RITH:
- From external services including hospitals
- Where safety issues are identified do complete home based therapy
How to Refer:
Minimum requirement for all referrals is that they are ISBAR compliant.
Referral only accepted from Northern Health wards. For referrals from other health services please consider the alternative service options below for home based services.
Alternative Service Options:
Inpatient Rehabilitation Broadmeadows Hospital
Community Therapy Services
Community Health Service
Kilmore and District Hospital
NEXUS Primary Health Broadford, Wallan and Seymour
For any enquiries please contact Community Access on 9495 3443
