Home Care Nursing Service

Profile

The Home Care Nursing Service of SHSO provides care services to individuals and their families in their living environment in order to assist in the recovery or alleviate the symptoms of the disease or disability.

The Home Care Nursing Service aims to assist sick or disabled individuals in maximising their level of activity, increasing their level of independence and self-care, and aspiring to keep people at home by providing comprehensive, patient-centric, and accessible nursing care.

Objectives

• Promotion of health
• Disease prevention
• Early diagnosis, management or alleviation of the disease manifestations
• Provision of scientifically driven care to individuals outside the hospital setting
• Rehabilitation of individuals ability for self-care at the highest level

Home nursing is the cornerstone of continuing healthcare internationally and is considered a service organised, provided, and evaluated by registered nursing professionals with expertise in Community Nursing. The Home Care Nursing Service of the SHSO started its operation in 2006 on a pilot basis and gradually expanded to all districts of Cyprus. Home care service offices operate in all hospitals and most Urban/Rural Health Centres of the SHSO in free Cyprus. The service operates on weekdays from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm.

The service operation in order to achieve better organisation, flexibility, and efficiency, is based on four pillars:

The role of the Community Nurse in Home care

• Design, organisation, and provision of high-quality nursing care to sick individuals in the community
• Counselling and education and of the patient, family and carer.
• Psychological support to patients, families, and carers.
• Care for individuals at their terminal health stage. End-of-life care
• Care for patients with chronic conditions
• Management of diabetes mellitus
• Blood and other samples collection for laboratory examinations
• Administration of injections
• Administration of vaccines
• Administration of subcutaneous medication
• Management of medication
• Insertion and/or removal of a central venous catheter
• Central Venous Catheter care and maintenance (heparinization)
• Vital Signs monitoring and regulation (temperature, pulse, blood pressure)
• Prevention and care of pressure ulcers
• Wound treatment
• Burn treatment
• Removal of stitches, sutures or staples
• Care for cancer patients
• Care for individuals in a Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV) setting
• Palliative care
• Nasogastric tube change and enteral nutrition teaching
• Urinary catheter insertion, change, and care
• Suprapubic catheter changes and care
• Gastrostomy tube change and care
• Tracheostomy, colostomy, ileostomy, nephrostomy care
• Peritoneal catheter care
• Suctioning of secretions from the oral cavity and tracheostomy
• Consultation for the provision and use of medical equipment
• Oxygen therapy and monitoring of oxygen saturation
• Provision and rational use of consumables
• Consultation for securing state and other resources
• Assessment of housing and consultation for creating a safe environment
• Health Education and raising awareness in the Community

Inclusion criteria for the Home Care Nursing Service

Individuals eligible for home nursing services must meet the following criteria:

• Be registered with the General Healthcare System (GHS)
• Be bedridden or have severe physical disability and require home nursing
• Create an electronic referral from their personal physician or a GHS-contracted specialist

Διαδικασία ένταξης στην Υπηρεσία Κατ’ Οίκον Νοσηλείας

Ένα άτομο για να μπορεί να αιτηθεί κατ’ οίκον νοσηλευτικών υπηρεσιών μέσω ΓΕΣΥ απαιτείται:

• Create an electronic referral from their personal physician or a GHS-contracted specialist
• Contact the liaison Service of SHSO hospitals or the nearest Health Centre to the patient’s residence (see relevant list)
• Inform the Community Nurse for the issuance of the referral
• Each referral is evaluated and managed by Community Nurses on a priority basis and according to the individual’s condition and needs
• Telephone communication from the Community Nurse to collect all necessary information and schedule the date and time of the visit
• During the visit, the concerned individual is assessed to identify all possible needs or issues, aiming for better planning and implementation of necessary interventions for the individual
• In addition to any care provided to the individual, referrals are made to other services or healthcare professionals when deemed necessary.
• According to a decision by the HIO (Health Insurance Organization), all bedridden patients are entitled to up to 12 home care visits per year.
• In exceptional circumstances the HIO may approve additional home visits.

Information about the Home Care Nursing Service:

Health Centres	Office Contact Numbers of Community Nurses:
Latsia Health Center	22467496 22849161
Idalion Health Center	22521922
Kaimakli Health Center	22801510 22801523
Strovolos Health Center	22871904 22871389
Engomi Health Center	22809057 22809043
Lakatamia Health Center	22443393 22443394
Akaki Health Center	22821080
Evrychou Health Center	22465550 22465593
Aglandjia Health Center	22444468

Liaison/Consultation Service for Home Care Nursing

The Liaison/Consultation Service serves as the link between hospitalised patients and the Home Care Nursing Service.

The purpose of the service is to facilitate the patient’s discharge from the hospital and the smooth transition to their home environment in which the patient can receive continuing home care.

The services offered by the Liaison/Consultation Service include:

• Communication with the nursing units of health centres and referral of individuals to the Home Care Nursing Service.
• Nursing assessment of patients during their hospitalisation, following the issuance of relevant medical referral
• Communication with the attending physician to facilitate the discharge and the smooth transition of the patient to his/her home environment.
• Communication with the family to assess the level of support they can provide to the patient and elaborate on the functioning of the service.
• Counselling and education for cares/family/patients.
• Counselling on available technical means used in patient care, prevention of complications, and rehabilitation procedures.
• Effective utilisation of the available social and community resources (financial and other).
• Facilitate the connection with the Home Care Nursing Service.
• Referral of individuals and their families to other services (social, community, mental health, etc.).
• Assessment of patients and their families and referral to the chronic patients committee. If needed, the latter will oversee the admission of the chronic patient to elderly care GHS facilities for rehabilitation.
• The service offices can be found in all General Hospitals of SHSO and operate on weekdays from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm.
  
  

Hospital	Contact Number
Nicosia General Hospital	22603495

HOME CARE NURSING SERVICE FOR HOME MECHANICAL VENTILATOR SUPPORT

The purpose of the service is to assist individuals requiring mechanical ventilator support, while educating and supporting their families and carers in order to maximise their patient caring potential.

The objectives of the service are:

• Improvement of the individuals’ quality of life.
• Reduction of healthcare costs.
• Reduction of morbidity and mortality.
• Improvement of physical and psychological functioning.
• Reduction of length of stay (RLos) in hospitals.

The specialised nursing staff of the service educate families and cares on the following:

• Basic ventilator functions, such as replacing filters and circuits, recognizing auditory alarms, and troubleshooting.
• Operation and maintenance of suction devices.
• Tracheostomy care, maintaining the airway clearance, use of speaking valve.
• Bronchial suction technique.
• Gastrostomy care.
• Nutrition through gastrostomy.
• Use of nebulizer and oxygen tank.
• Measurement and evaluation of oxygen saturation.
• Management of emergencies, such as tracheostomy blockage.

Other duties:

• Home visits for assessing the residence and providing counselling and guidance to the family on necessary adjustments, ensuring to the best possible extent a safe and less challenging living environment of individuals on mechanical ventilation support.
• Frequent home visits for nursing assessment and addressing patient issues.
• Arrangements for equipment maintenance and monitoring.
• Arrangement and organisation of visits to Intensive Care Medicine outpatient clinics for tracheostomy tube changes and evaluation.

The service can be reached at the General Hospitals of Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Famagusta, Paphos, and operates on weekdays from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm.

Νοσοκομείο	Τηλέφωνο Επικοινωνίας
Γενικό Νοσοκομείο Λευκωσίας	22603716

QUALITY AND INFECTION CONTROL OFFICE OF HOME CARE NURSING SERVICE

The purpose of the Quality and Infection Control Office of the Home Care Nursing Service is the continuous improvement of the quality of processes and procedures provided by the service.

It aims to ensure the high quality of care provided by well-trained and highly specialised personnel, with the ultimate goal of patient safety and coverage of their needs.

Furthermore, it aims to avoid the recurrence of problems or incorrect practices and their financial and/or social implications, by focusing on the provision of quality services and their continuous improvement.

The main axes of the Office’s work and crucial parameters for ensuring the quality of the provided services are the establishment of standard operating procedures and predefined standards, together with appropriate supervision, control, and documentation. The Quality and Infection Control Office is based at Aglantzia Health Centre and operates on weekdays from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm. Telephone number of the Quality and Infection Control

Office:
📞 22444405

Click Here to view the CYPRUS COMMUNITY NURSING DIRECTORY.

*The Nicosia Health Centre has been relocated to the Kaimakli Health Center.