Objectives
The aim of home care at the Vestfjörður Health Institute is to enable a person to continue living at home for as long as possible, given their health and social conditions, in close cooperation with the person and their relatives.
Zoning
Home care is provided in two areas:
- Northern region: Ísafjarðarbær, Bolungarvík and Súðavík
- Southern region: Vesturbyggð and Tálknafjörður
Home care in the northern region is provided by a special home care unit based at the hospital in Ísafjörður. Home care is also provided from the health center Tjörn á Þingeyri.
In the southern region, home care is provided from the hospital and health care.
How do you apply for home care?
It is best to consult the doctors of the health institution. They then send a written request to the home care department.
Who takes care of the home care?
Home care is provided by nurses, paramedics and other workers, in close collaboration with primary care doctors, hospital specialists and nurses in its inpatient wards.
A nurse from the home care unit visits the affected person and assesses the need for help, based on health and social conditions. After that, a care plan is drawn up in consultation with the individual and often their relatives as well.
What services does the home care unit provide?
Home care is based on knowledge. Care provided there includes:
- General care
- Assistance with personal hygiene
- Assistance with bathing
- Administration of medicines
- Medicines (tablets, injections, fertilizers)
- Wound divisions
- Measurement of blood pressure, blood sugar, etc.
- Spiritual support
- Monitoring of a person's general state of health and environment
- Advice and guidance on possibilities for improved health, such as obtaining aids, what is needed, where to look, hygiene, etc.
- Other nursing treatment and care determined on a case-by-case basis.
The aim is to make home nursing clients as self-sufficient and independent as possible, given their health, physical endurance and other conditions.
What services does home nursing not provide?
- Visits outside predetermined times.
- Unannounced visits.
- Watch over, or stay with individuals for longer periods of time.
When is home care provided?
Home nursing staff attends to their clients every day from 08:00-16:00 and 18:00-22:00.
Requests for services outside of these hours must be sent separately to the head of the department and are examined on a case-by-case basis.
How much does home care cost?
The home care itself is free for everyone.
However, individuals have to pay for medical certificates, examinations, various specialized treatments and medical interviews, which home care often helps its clients receive.
Head of home care
The head of the home care department in the northern region is nurse Heiða Björk Ólafsdóttir, heida.b.olafsdottir@hvest.is.
In the southern area there is a nursing director, Hrafnhildur Ólöf Ólafsdóttir, home care liaison.
Updated June 2, 2023 (GÓ)