We coordinate and link GPs, hospital specialists and community services. This allows residential aged care facility (RACF) clinicians, GPs, and paramedics to offer residents a choice in their emergency care location.
This means patients can get emergency medicine care in their facility without the distress or complications that can happen when transferred to or staying in hospital.
Queensland Health has a suite of clinical pathways for registered nurses and GPs who are caring for residents in an RACF. These are for patients who may need to be referred to Residential Acute Support Services (RaSS).
Make sure you read How to use the pathways and Conditions of use and copyright first.
Use the pathway to help you decide when to call us.
Emergency support line
Hours: 7:30 am to 4 pm, 7 days a week (closed Christmas Day)
Phone: 0427 026 319
When you call our emergency support line, please make sure you have a recent set of vitals. You'll be speaking to a senior nurse who will give you a care plan that includes the CAREPACT doctor.
This is a direct line to an emergency specialist or geriatrician. You can call for support, guidance and to refer your patient.
CAREPACT Specialist Consult Line
Hours: 24 hours a day
Phone: 0437 252 746
Please don’t send written referrals. These can delay emergency care. You can talk to the specialist about recent investigations, previous specialist involvement, and concurrent referrals.
This is a direct line to an emergency doctor or geriatrician. You can call for support, guidance and to refer your patient.
CAREPACT Specialist Consult Line
Hours: 24 hours a day
Phone: 0437 252 746
Before you call us, make sure the patient lives in Residential Aged Care in Metro South HHS and isn't living independently, in disability or private housing.
Does the patient:
Call us if you’re not sure about their clinical history.
We’ll also ask if you know who called the ambulance, and if the patient’s family and GP know an ambulance has been called.
CAREPACT is the Comprehensive Aged Residents Emergency Partners in Assessment Care and Treatment Program.
It was designed to streamline and create a care pathway for acutely unwell residents. This includes a central point of contact for RACF clinicians, GPs and paramedics.
Nurse navigator Juliana Friedrich talks about her role in CAREPACT and how more nurses are needed in aged care nursing.
Our CAREPACT model of care has 7 main parts.
Emergency support line - We have a dedicated single point of contact to discuss and refer acutely unwell RACF residents to specialist care.
Mobile emergency team (MET) - Our mobile emergency team provides emergency department-equivalent care for residents when their health deteriorates.
Nurse navigator - Our nurse navigator streamlines the care pathway for frail residents to reduce unnecessary hospital stays and improve resident outcomes.
Inreach clinical nursing team - Our inreach teams coordinate and plan early discharges for residents in emergency departments or when they’re admitted to hospital. They include specially trained clinical nurses who are based at 4 hospitals in Metro South Health.
Hospital acute care substitution - We provide hospital standard acute care for residents in aged facilities who meet Queensland Health’s Hospital in the Home guidelines criteria.
Clinical education and support for RACF staff - We worked with GPs, RACFs and inpatient specialist staff to develop a best practice management manual for acute health concerns (RaSS Clinical Handbook). The handbook will help you decide when to refer your patient to CAREPACT or whether to replace their current services.
We help GPs arrange emergency care for their patients or decide when they might need other services and care. We also educate staff in aged care facilities.
GP and paramedic direct referral line - We have a direct line for GPs and paramedics to refer patients to CAREPACT or talk to an emergency doctor or geriatrician instead of transferring a patient to hospital.
If you’d like to know more about CAREPACT, you can email our team at CAREPACT@health.qld.gov.au.
