If you are a support coordinator, SIL provider or family member looking for an NDIS nursing provider in Melbourne, you probably already know how hard it can be to find the right fit. Referrals sit on waitlists. Bigger agencies decline participants whose needs look too complex. When a service does start, a different nurse turns up each week and the support team has to explain everything again. At Home Based Health, we set out to do things differently. We are an NDIS registered provider, and our in-home nursing team is part of a multidisciplinary team led by experienced clinicians who come to the participant’s home and stay for the long haul.
What an NDIS nursing provider does
Nursing under the NDIS is about clinical care that relates to a person’s disability and that a support worker can’t safely provide without the right training and oversight. It happens where the participant lives, whether that is their own home, a family home or a shared supported independent living (SIL) house.
For many participants, nursing is what keeps them well and out of hospital. It also gives the people around them confidence that daily care is being done safely.
Nursing services we provide at home
Our in-home registered nursing service supports adult NDIS participants with:
- Complex bowel and continence care, including bowel care plans and regular review
- Wound care, from pressure injuries to post-surgical wounds
- Medication management and administration, including Webster packs, PRN medications and injections
- Catheter and stoma care
- Enteral and PEG feeding
- Diabetes management, including insulin
- Tracheostomy and ventilation support
- Clinical assessments and nursing care plans that are written for the person, not copied from a template
Training and supervising support teams
A big part of our work happens alongside the support workers who are with the participant every day. When someone needs high intensity supports, such as PEG feeding, complex bowel care or catheter care, their support team needs participant-specific training and someone to check their competency.
Our nurses assess the participant, write the nursing care plan, then train and supervise the support workers who deliver that care day to day. We check competency in the home, with the person who actually receives the support, so the training reflects real life. When something changes, such as a new medication or a hospital stay, we review the plan and update the team.
You can read more about this in our post on high intensity support skills training in Melbourne.
Who we work with
We support adults with disability who need clinical nursing at home. Many live in SIL or shared homes, and others live with family or on their own. Some have been with the same provider for years. Others come to us because their care has stalled, or because another agency has said their needs are outside what it can manage.
Referrals usually come from support coordinators, SIL providers and house supervisors, plan managers and families. Participants and their families are welcome to contact us directly too.
Why choose Home Based Health
Experienced clinicians
Complex care needs people who have seen it before. Our team is made up of experienced clinicians who are comfortable with high needs participants and who take the time to understand the whole person, including their communication, routines and preferences.
Local, so we can start sooner
We are based in Melbourne’s south-east and focus on the areas we know well. That helps us start quickly and keep visits consistent. We see participants across Melbourne’s inner east, south, bayside, Kingston and south-east, in suburbs such as Hawthorn, Kew, Malvern, South Yarra, Brighton, Sandringham, Cheltenham, Mentone, Oakleigh and Glen Waverley.
The same nurse, week after week
We aim for the same nurse to see the same participant wherever we can. Continuity matters. It means the nurse notices small changes early, the support team knows who to call, and the participant doesn’t have to build trust with a stranger every visit. Many of our relationships with participants and houses go back years, and we want to keep it that way.
Communication comes first
Support coordinators often tell us the hardest part of working with a provider is the silence. We reply to emails and calls promptly, even when the task itself will take a little longer, so you always know where things stand. You’ll get clear updates after assessments and changes to care plans.
Nursing, speech pathology and dietetics under one team
Some participants need more than one clinician looking at the same problem. A person who is PEG fed, for example, may also need a mealtime management plan and a review of their nutrition. In many services these sit with three separate providers who rarely speak to each other.
At Home Based Health, our nurses work alongside our speech pathologists and dietitians in the same team. We can coordinate PEG care, mealtime and swallowing support, and nutrition planning together, so the support team gets one consistent set of instructions. We also offer podiatry at home. If swallowing is a concern, our post on dysphagia and swallowing care at home explains more.
How NDIS funding for nursing works
Nursing at home may be funded under a participant’s NDIS plan. Depending on the type of support, it may come from Core or Capacity Building funding. Training for support workers and the development of care plans can also be funded in some cases.
Every plan is different, so the best first step is to talk with the participant’s support coordinator or plan manager. They can check what is in the plan and how it is managed. We are happy to talk this through with you before a referral as well, and we will be upfront about what we can and can’t help with.
How to make a referral
Getting started is simple:
- Send us a referral through our online referral form, or email info@homebasedhealth.com.au.
- We get in touch to talk about the participant’s needs, funding and timing.
- A clinician completes an assessment at home and develops a nursing care plan.
- Care and training begin, with the same nurse providing ongoing visits and support team training where needed.
Talk to an NDIS nursing provider in Melbourne
If you are looking for an NDIS nursing provider in Melbourne who will take on complex care, communicate clearly and stick around, we would love to hear from you. Whether it’s a new participant, a house that needs its team trained, or care that has stalled somewhere else, we’ll give you a straight answer about how we can help.
Make a referral today, email info@homebasedhealth.com.au or call us on 03 8595 2666.
This article is general information only and is not a substitute for individual clinical or NDIS planning advice.