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All public and private patients diagnosed with TB and commenced on anti-TB medication in Queensland are assigned a nurse from the Queensland Tuberculosis Control Program (QTCP) for the duration of treatment. The nurse acts as an advocate between the patient and treating medical officer, and offers a quality, timely and client-focused consultancy through home or hospital visiting and telephone calls. This is a free service to people who:
If a nurse does not make initial contact with the patient within seven days of commencing anti-TB medication, please contact us with a referral request.
In south-east Qld, nursing management for the TB patient is provided through:
direct contact with the patient via home/site visits within approximately 150 km radius of Brisbane;
or
direct contact with the patient as part of the regular clinical assessment program of regional visits (north to Bundaberg and west to Eidsvold) and telephone calls in between medical and nursing assessments to provide advice, education and support to the patient and family.
In regional areas, nursing management for the TB patient may differ depending on the patient’s location.
The initial contact may occur at the patient’s home or in hospital prior to discharge. At the initial nursing interview:
The risk assessment includes:
Staff who may need to visit the patient during treatment are advised of any issues identified during the risk assessment.
After the initial patient visit, the case nurse remains an integral part of the patient’s management until treatment is completed. To achieve optimal patient outcomes, the case nurse may need to liaise with:
Should a patient transfer out of the geographic area during TB treatment, follow the transfer out procedure to ensure optimal ongoing clinical management. The transfer out form should be completed and filed in the patient health record.
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