SA Health has developed a new app and is to establish a new COVID-19 care team to enable people who test positive to the virus to receive health care from home.
Announced by Premier, Steven Marshall, SA Health’s new HealthCheck SA app and COVID Response Care Team (CRCT) will provide remote monitoring and online support from qualified health staff for active cases, their families and close contacts.
Mr Marshall said that with the vast majority of COVID-19 cases experiencing mild to moderate symptoms, providing support to people in their home was more convenient, comfortable and safe for the patient.
“HealthCheck SA has been built to safely manage up to 50,000 people, which will include active cases, their families and close contacts, linking them to health and wellbeing supports to ensure they receive the care they need, when they need it,” he said.
“The HealthCheck SA app will act as a toolkit and include a testing and quarantine schedule to help plan and manage time spent in quarantine, with multiple randomised location check-ins, daily symptom checks and health and wellbeing resources.”
Mr Marshall said people being cared for at home would be monitored centrally by qualified health staff from the CRCT, which would monitor patients’ temperature and oxygen saturation through virtual clinical care equipment, such as oximeters and temperature probes, which would be provided to those at home who needed it.
Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Stephen Wade said it was anticipated that around 85 per cent of positive COVID-19 cases would be safely supported through the HealthCheck SA app, freeing up hospital beds for more acutely unwell patients.
Mr Wade said the CRCT would be a SA Health-led, multi-disciplinary team that would oversee and coordinate clinical, social and wellbeing support for COVID-19 positive patients and those who were in quarantine.
Deputy Chief Public Health Officer, Dr Emily Kirkpatrick said cases would be risk-assessed to determine whether it was safe for them to stay at home, or whether they would need a higher level of care and support in a dedicated COVID-19 care facility such as a medi-hotel or hospital.
