Portable bladder scanner a game changer for aged care operator
Expected to reduce hospital visits, improve health outcomes, and ultimnately save the lives of aged care residents, should every operator have access to this $6,000 device?
A portable bladder scanner has been donated to WA Not For Profit aged care operator Capecare, and will be used across their two aged care homes – in Dunsborough and Busselton in the state’s south west – and by nurses during home care visits.
Until now, residents experiencing urinary problems have often had to travel by ambulance to Busselton Hospital, which can be stressful and disruptive for the resident, and places pressure on local services.
The new scanner, valued at $6,000 and donated by Dunsborough Lions Club, will allow Capecare’s nursing team to test and assess residents on site and support earlier diagnosis and treatment of potentially serious conditions, such as Urinary Tract Infections (UTI).
Capecare Board Member and Dunsborough GP Dr Mostyn Hamdorf said: “The portable bladder scanner is a quick, safe, and non-intrusive way of differentiating between urinary obstruction and dehydration.
“For older people, particularly those who may struggle to communicate their symptoms, this technology helps take the guesswork out of diagnosis. The scan only takes a few seconds, and the results can be sent immediately to the resident’s GP so treatment can be arranged quickly.”
UTIs are the most common infection treated with antibiotics in residential aged care. They can be difficult to diagnose with a complex range of symptoms, traditionally relying on urine samples for diagnosis.
The Dunsborough Lions Club previously donated a Tovertafel interactive memory game table and wheelchair-friendly raised garden beds to Capecare. They also contributed financially to the planning stages of the Dunsborough aged care facility, the only aged care home in the town.
Capecare contributes 18 beds to the WA Government’s Time to Think program. Time to Think is aimed at getting hospital patients well enough to be discharged out of hospital while they consider long-term accommodation as a means to freeing up more acute care beds.
