The Older Persons Care Hub provides short-term assessment and care planning in your home, so you can avoid unecessary trips to the Emergency Department or hospital.
Key points
- Short-term at-home care planning with a focus on helping people avoid unnecessary trips to hospital
- Patients must meet the eligibility criteria and be referred to this service by either an RMH geriatrician or the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED)
- This is a free service that operates 8am to 4pm from Monday to Friday
The Older Persons Care Hub (OPCH) is a Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) service that provides assessment and care planning in your home for one to two weeks so you can avoid unnecessary trips to hospital where possible.
The OPCH is a free service that operates 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday. It is staffed by a dedicated team of:
- geriatricians (specialist doctors skilled in the care of older people with complex health issues)
- nurses
- allied health professionals
What we do
When you receive care from the OPCH, you can expect the following:
- Initial phone call – A clinician will call and ask you a few questions to confirm if this service is suitable to meet your needs.
- Visit at home from one of our team – A clinician will visit you at home for your initial assessment. Additional visits will be in home or via telehealth.
- Care planning – Our team (nurse, allied health, doctor) will create a plan with you to meet your needs. This will outline services we can provide immediately and which services you could be referred to. You will receive a copy of this care plan. Coordinating referrals to other RMH programs and services and help you get the care that you need to stay well at home
- Follow-up – Care continues for one to two weeks, then we help connect you to ongoing services if required.
- Check-in call – We will call you 4 weeks after your last appointment to check how you are.
- A brochure – You will receive a brochure that outlines extra information that you need, including our contact details.
Who can access the Older Persons Care Hub
To be eligible for this service, you need to:
- have a referral from an RMH Emergency Department geriatrician or the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED)
- be over 65 (or over 50 for our First Nations population), and
- live close to the RMH within the Moonee Valley, Melbourne and Merri-Bek local government areas
Our team will work with referrers to determine if our service can provide the care that a patient needs. We will let your referrer know if we have accepted your referral to provide care.
Ready for your Telehealth appointment?
Join the waiting room 5 to 10 minutes before your appointment time. This will let your clinician know that you are ready for your Telehealth call to start.