Hospital in the Home

What is our Hospital in the Home (HITH) Service?

Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group (SCGOPHCG) Hospital in the Home (HITH) service is a continuation of acute inpatient care in the comfort of your own home, allowing for clinical conditions to be managed safely and effectively away from a hospital setting. 

If you are an eligible patient from Sir Charles Gairdner (SCGH) and/or Osborne Park Hospital (OPH), you can have your care provided at home with the free HITH service, following clinical assessment by the SCGH medical, nursing, allied health and pharmacy teams. 

The SCGOPHCG HITH service is also the first in WA to provide rehabilitation under the HITH Admitted Rehabilitation Program (HARP).

This initiative will enable you to return home sooner while you continue to receive goal-directed rehabilitation in your own home during your recovery period.  

Under the new statewide process for transfer, you can receive care through HITH regardless of which WA metro or country area in which you reside.  

The HITH service is accessible seven days a week, from 7am to 9.30pm with overnight telephone support.

Who is the HITH team?

The service consists of a multidisciplinary team of health professionals who will support a patient's treatment requirements. 

This includes hospital doctors, nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, social workers, dietitians and speech pathologists. 

How does HITH work?

When you attend SCGH, if the clinical team determine that your condition and treatment plan meet the requirements to have your care provided at home, you have the option to be referred to the HITH team. 

After a referral is made, a doctor and a nurse from the service will contact you to plan your treatment in collaboration with your hospital treating team to ensure you receive the same standard of safe, quality hospital care you need to support your recovery. 

As a HITH patient you will remain an inpatient of the hospital, though your care will be provided by hospital-employed staff in your home (place of residence).  

This means that the hospital team will manage and support your care during your admission at home rather than needing to go to your GP.

Why choose HITH instead of staying in hospital?  

• You will receive the same quality of acute inpatient level care in the comfort of your own home
• You can remain close to your family and / or carers, and receive treatment in a familiar home environment 
• You will be able to sleep in your own bed with no disruptions  
• You can eat your own meals at the times it suits you 
• There is a reduced risk of hospital acquired complications 
  
  

How will you receive care?

You will be visited by members of the multidisciplinary team each day and may be seen by nurses up to twice daily if required. 

The team will provide treatment and monitor your condition while enabling you to remain close to your family in a familiar environment. 

A clinician from the HITH team will call you prior to your visit in your home and deliver suitable care to support your recovery.

Home visits are usually conducted between 7.30am and 2pm, afternoon visits are concluded by 6.30pm, seven days a week including public holidays.

If you require further investigations, such as medical imaging or specialised assessment, you may be asked to attend the HITH clinical area at the SCGH, C block to have these completed. 

You will receive treatment and monitoring of your condition until you are discharged.

What if I have medical concerns?

The HITH service is accessible seven days a week, from 7am to 9.30pm with overnight telephone support if you have any urgent concerns relating to your care. 

For urgent matters, HITH patients can call 1300 191 622 to speak to a nurse for advice on the management of their condition (support available 24 hours per day). 

In an emergency

If you have a life-threatening medical condition, call 000 and request an ambulance.