Česky
In addition to your work as a nurse in our cancer centre, you also visit patients as part of so-called home care. Who does this service fall under?
I work for the home care agency Kamilka s.r.o. It is a non-governmental healthcare facility that treats patients in their home environment seven days a week. It operates in Pardubice and its surroundings, in the Holicko and Přelouč regions.
What kind of patients is this service for?
Home care is provided to patients who are unable to take care of themselves and go to a health care facility. These are mainly elderly patients and people with disabilities, both physical and mental.
What can a patient and their loved ones expect when they request home care?
This care is covered by health insurance and is ordered by the GP or attending physician when the patient is discharged from hospital and discharged to home care. The doctor determines what care, the extent and frequency of care will be provided in the patient's home. This includes, for example, insulin administration, medication, blood draws, injections, infusion therapy, chronic wound dressings, catheterisation, rehabilitation, and so on. The home care nurse must have versatile skills because the mix of patients and procedures is multidisciplinary.
How does a patient visit usually work?
The patient is informed that a nurse will be visiting them and what they will be doing. The patient's treatment is conducted as a visit, they are required to introduce themselves, take off their shoes, allow themselves to know where to put their dressing bag or where to sit. Patients are very grateful for the care, it saves them the hassle of transport. Sometimes the nurse is the only person they have been able to talk to all day, especially now at covid time.
Is it difficult to assess when a patient might need to be admitted to hospital? What do you go by?
If the patient's condition deteriorates, the nurse contacts the GP and consults with them about the next course of action. If it is a life-threatening condition, she calls the ambulance. Of course, she informs the family of the situation if she is not present.
Working in oncology and also for home care must be very mentally demanding. Can you separate it from your private life?
I love the nursing profession and this work fulfils me. Although it is sometimes difficult to combine private life and work life, I wouldn't change.
