Amal Al-Sibai
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — A terrible car accident left a father of four paralyzed from waist below in severe pain in a hospital.
His long stay in the hospital and absence from home was causing stress on his wife and children.
Emotionally he was crushed and physically he still had a long way to recover.
The solution which enabled him to resume some semblance of a normal family life and return to his children was made possible by the National Home Health care Foundation (NHHCF).
"When I was no longer in need of constant medical attention, I was released from the hospital and returned to my home. I suffered from depression and painful bed sores until I started receiving weekly visits from a medical team from the National Home Health Care Foundation.
"The physical therapist helped me move, regain normal function of my upper body and prevent bed sores.
"I rapidly improved both physically and emotionally, and started spending more time with my children," said Abu Eyad.
That is what home healthcare is all about; it is a more humanitarian approach and it is the future of medicine.
It is a holistic approach that provides professional medical care while allowing patients to gain back their lives which were disrupted due to illness and extended hospitalization.
Frequent trips to the hospital are cumbersome on the patient and the family, especially for patients with disability.
Bringing the medical team to the patient is more convenient than taking the ill patient to the hospital for routine treatments that can be safely and easily administered at home.
A comprehensive medical team is dispatched to the patient’s home consisting of a physician, nurse, social worker, psychologist, dietician, physical therapist, and respiratory therapist and is then modified in subsequent visits based on the patient’s particular needs.
The National Home Healthcare Foundation was established in 1997 by Princess Hessah Bint Trad Al-Shaalan, wife of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and Jeddah’s branch is presided over by Princess Adelah Bint Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.
The goal of any home healthcare program is to extend treatment and care after the patient leaves the hospital, catering to the patient’s health, social, and psychological needs within the comfort and privacy of his/her home.
This promotes self-reliance and reduces dependence on others. Another goal is to educate and support the family members so they can understand and cope with the patient’s condition.
In addition to check-ups, education, and therapy, the family of the patient is also provided with necessary medical equipments, nutritional supplements, and medicines.
At the Social Medical Home Health Care Conference which took place on November 19 and 20 here, strategies to improve and expand home healthcare in the Kingdom were explored.
Healthcare professionals, social workers, and policy makers are collaborating to draw more private and government healthcare facilities to this new, promising concept.
"We at the NHHCF endeavor to promote home healthcare services in our society. Home healthcare is the best choice in developed countries.
"In the past six years since its conception, we have accomplished much. The quality of home healthcare has been standardized, the salaries for home healthcare workers was increased to give them incentive to pursue these careers, and we have pushed for the development of a specialized curriculum for a physicians’ home healthcare diploma by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties," said Princess Adelah, President of the NHHCF in the Western region.
The Vice-Minister of Health, Dr. Mansour Naser Al-Howasi, applauded the efforts of Princess Adelah, stating that home healthcare should not be viewed as an option but as a necessity.
"Implementing home healthcare in the Kingdom began as a charitable initiative by the NHHCF about six years ago. Since then, the Ministry of Health adopted home healthcare programs and appropriate budgets have been allocated to home healthcare.
"In the past year, 33,000 patients have enrolled in government funded home healthcare programs, half a million visits by medical personnel have been conducted, and more than 380 medical teams have been trained for this type of work.
"Home healthcare is still in its beginning stages, it is fairly new in the Kingdom but we plan to further develop and improve these services," said Al-Howasi.
Al-Howasi added: "The patient comes first. To alleviate the trouble and pain the patient endures on trips to and from the hospital, the Ministry of Health must be able to offer the best care in the patient’s own environment."
Dr. Yaqub Al-Mazrou, secretary general of the Council of Health Services, said: "A leap in healthcare in the West has been made, where patients come in for one-day surgery and are discharged on the same day. Follow up care is then offered in the patient’s home.
"This reduces the patient’s chance of contracting infections in the hospital and reduces the burden on the limited resources of staff, beds, and rooms in the hospital. This will have profound health, economic, and social benefits for the patient."
Dr. Wael Kaawach, CEO of Healthcare Development Holding Company, said: "By conducting research, we want to show insurance companies that it makes sense financially for them to cover home healthcare services. For example, antibiotics that must be administered intravenously given by a nurse in the patient’s home actually costs less than bringing the patient to the hospital to receive the antibiotic."
Some obstacles in the way of home healthcare include providing extensive training and education for healthcare givers in this new field.
Social services must also accompany the medical treatment. Incentives must be given to home healthcare workers in the government and private sector. A change in perspective in Saudi society must take place for patients to accept this new form of healthcare.
Since healthcare costs are escalating exponentially, home healthcare promises economic benefits for individual patients, healthcare institutions, and the nation.
