Transit Lounge getting patients home earlier at Redcliffe Hospital
Karen Chippindall and the team in the Patient Transit Lounge at Redcliffe Hospital care for around 75 patients each day, helping them get the care they need and get home safely.
Each day, the Patient Transit Lounge at Redcliffe Hospital helps patients arriving at the hospital access the care they need. For those ready to go home or be discharged, the lounge gives patients a safe and comfortable space while waiting for transport.
Karen Chippindall is the Nurse Unit Manager for the Patient Transit Lounge at Redcliffe Hospital, and says the lounge is now open for patients from 6.30am on weekdays and 7.30am on weekends and public holidays.
“After trialling the earlier opening times, we have seen the positive difference they have made, so we’ve made those hours a permanent change,” Karen says.
“Our new opening and closing times are a better match for the times when patients can benefit from the service most.
“Each day, the lounge helps patients coming to hospital for appointments and admissions – especially those who need mobility support or have other specific needs.”
Patients using the Transit Lounge can include those from aged care facilities, direct admissions, inter-hospital transfers, and those attending outpatient and medical imaging appointments.
“We also look after patients who are in the final stages of going home from hospital, particularly those being discharged from hospital wards, or those ready to go home from the Emergency Department,” Karen says.
“For those patients, the lounge is a calmer and more comfortable place. It also means they aren’t occupying a ward bed that they no longer need, and that can be used for other patients needing acute care.
“The lounge helps these patients to transition out of hospital in a way that is safe, timely and better suited to their needs.”
Karen said arranging patient transport was a big part of that transition, and the lounge helped patients by coordinating with families and carers, ambulance transport, taxis and other transport services to get patients back home.
The Patient Transit Lounge is located at the front of Redcliffe Hospital, adjacent to the patient drop-off area. The service is now open on weekdays from 6.30am to 6.30pm, and on weekends and public holidays from 7.30am to 4pm.