PODSS nurses Jodi Healy (left) and Jodie Batley (right) with patient Amanda Latimer at Rockhampton Hospital
A nurse-led Queensland Health innovation is transforming post-operative care, winning the Premier's Awards for Excellence for its success in helping thousands of patients recover safely at home.
The Post-Operative Discharge Support Service (PODSS) bridges the critical gap between hospital discharge and outpatient review by giving patients direct access to expert surgical nurses for up to 30 days via telehealth.
PODSS nurses provide expert guidance on essential recovery needs, such as wound and drain care, pain control, medication regimes, early management of minor infections, and general post discharge advice to keep patients safe and well while recovering at home.
The service has been so successful it is now offered in 20 facilities across Queensland and will shortly commence in Caboolture and Townsville hospitals, as well as expanding to all general surgery patients at Gold Coast University Hospital (where it is currently available for gynaecology patients).
Since its establishment by the Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) in 2023, PODSS has:
- slashed post-surgical emergency presentations by an average of 30 to 40 per cent, with some regional services reporting a staggering 70 per cent reduction
- partnered with several health facilities to reduce ambulance ramping
- delivered almost 50,000 episodes of care, with 85 per cent of support provided via telehealth by specialist surgical nurses.
Someone who can attest to the level of care provided through PODSS is Amanda Latimer, who presented to the Rockhampton Hospital Emergency Department with what turned out to be a flesh-eating bacterial infection.
She was flown to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for surgery and Negative Pressure Wound Therapy before returning to Rockhampton for further surgical follow up and treatment.
“I left Brisbane with two massive vacuum dressings up the whole of my leg, so I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do dressing changes without some sort of pain relief, but the team at Rockhampton hospital were just amazing,” Amanda said.
“There were times on the weekend, where my vacuum dressing would leak and make a mess and I could just call them and they were just like ‘yep, come on up’ and I could go straight up the lift, straight into their room, no hassles at all – they were absolutely awesome.
“The guys down in Brisbane even wrote a care plan for the nurses here in Rocky, so it’s been really seamless, and even when I was referred back to orthopaedics, the ladies down there were amazing as well.
“They’d look after me and do my dressing changes and I just can’t speak highly enough of them.”
Craig Campbell also got to know PODSS nurses up at Cairns Hospital, following an umbilical hernia removal.
Noticing a seroma the day after his surgery, he went to the ED, but was thereafter able to get support directly from PODSS.
“They were fantastic,” Craig said.
“I called them six times, and either Emma or Rachel would chat with me, tell me to come in, and they’d see me right away to help with dressings.”
“Without their help, I probably would’ve kept going back to the ED.
“It was so comforting knowing I could contact PODSS if I needed support or advice. It really put my mind at ease.”
Healthcare Improvement Unit PODSS State Principal Project Officer Sally Kriel said the statewide model was implemented to tackle a pressing challenge.
“Data showed that more than 10 per cent of Queensland’s surgical patients were returning to the emergency department (ED) with low-acuity surgery-related concerns within just 30 days of leaving the hospital,” Ms Kriel said.
“The pioneering work of the STARS PODSS team has shown that by combining strong clinical evidence with consumer feedback and nurse-led innovation, we can improve surgical recovery while significantly easing pressure on EDs and improving patient flow.
“We now provide high-quality wraparound care, allowing us to assist our surgical patients in nurse-led rapid access clinics and ensure they are supported at every opportunity to recover safely at home.”
PODSS is currently available at the following hospital and health facilities:
- Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service - STARS (Inaugural site - 2023)
- Cairns Hospital
- Mackay Hospital
- Rockhampton Hospital
- Bundaberg Hospital
- Hervey Bay Hospital
- Maryborough Hospital
- Gympie Hospital
- Sunshine Coast University Hospital
- Nambour Hospital
- Redcliffe Hospital
- The Prince Charles Hospital
- Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
- Queensland Children’s Hospital (known as PODCARE)
- Princess Alexandra Hospital
- Logan Hospital
- Varsity Lakes Day Hospital – gynaecology patients
- Gold Coast University Hospital – gynaecology patients
- Ipswich Hospital
- Toowoomba Hospital