John* not clients real name to protect his privacy, is a 46-year-old male with a spinal cord injury and is wheel chair bound. He resides in a supported independent living (SIL) at one of HyCare’s housing options. John reported to his staff that he was
Fever, feeling unwell, and a bit cold
His carers notes record the following
At 3am, John asked for help to get some water. When I arrived, I noticed that he was more restless than usual. After he drank, I sat with him and we talked about some upcoming community activities, which he was excited about. I performed the following checks as per SOUR-GP protocol
- Blood pressure
- 134/95 mmHg
- Heart Rate
- 88 beats per minute
- Temperature
- 37.1 degrees
- Breathing
- 14 breaths per minute
- Oxygen Saturation
- 99%
I asked John if he would like me to call the HyCare’s on-call doctor for advice. John said he will wait until the morning to contact his GP. I checked on him three more times over night and he appeared to be sleeping well.
I recorded this in the sleep log and also handed this to the incoming morning staff
John’s carer contacted his GP for an appointment, unfortunately, the next appointment was next week. The day time’s carer notes were:
John’s appointment made: 15 May at 10:00am. While helping John with personal hygiene, I noted that he was more flat than usual and did not engage with him. He did not finish his breakfast and said that he was feeling tired. John went to sleep for an hour. I checked on him and he was looking sweaty so I contacted his GP again, but the medical clinic said that they will put him on a waiting list in case of cancellation.
After John’s midday medications, he was feeling nauseated. So, I asked him if it was ok to contact HyCare’s doctor to which he agreed. John spoke to the doctor over the phone and our nurse arrived about an hour after.
John was found to have a urinary tract infection and that his condition was safe to manage in the community. A urine sample was taken and sent for pathology testing. A prescription was generated and sent to his local pharmacy for his carers to pick it up, and the antibiotics was added to his medication chart.
With in 24 hours, John’s nausea, sweatiness, feeling unwell and flat was resolved. A letter was sent to his GP to alert her of this incident. A notification was sent to his family and support coordinator was made - as requested by him. And a follow up with John by HyCare’s doctor 5 days later confirmed he was back to base line.
At HyCare, our Safeguarding outside your GP program assists with hospital avoidance when it is medically safe to do so. The program is completely complementary to all our clients when our carers are present, and there is no cost to your NDIS plan funding.