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Home visit service

Home visit service

Awanui Labs offers a free to patient home visit service for the Timaru, South Canterbury region. Home visits can only be provided if the Eligibility Criteria (below) have been fully met.

Home visit guidelines – Christchurch and surrounds
Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for a home visit, patients must:

  • Be housebound due to ill health or have impaired mobility; be unable to manage everyday tasks such as grocery and shopping errands; and have no support person to provide transport to a collection centre to be eligible for a home visit.
  • A request for a home visit must be made by the referring medical practitioner or nurse practitioner – not the patient, their caregiver or relative.
  • Any changes to a home visit request must be communicated to us by the referring medical practitioner or nurse practitioner – not the patient / caregiver or relative
  • Bookings are restricted to patients living within a 20km radius of the nearest Awanui Labs collection centre.
  • Bookings will not be accepted for patients requiring restraint unless assistance is available.
Request a home visit
  • Requests for a home visit must be made by the referring medical practitioner or nurse practitioner – not the patient, caregiver or relative.
  • The home visit request form must not be given to the patient to present.
  • Please make requests for a home visit at least 24 hours in advance of the requested booking day (Tuesday to Friday). Requests for a Monday must be made by 5pm on the preceding Thursday to allow for scheduling.
  • We require the Home Visit Coordinator to be notified (call 03 360 0842) if there are any particular specifications with regard to the testing e.g. fasting or drug levels.
  • Home Visit requests must be made via the tick option on the eOrder electronic request form or if you do not have access to eOrders. Fill in Home Visit Request Form and email to christchurch.homevisit@awanuilabs.co.nz.
Home visits for COVID positive patients or self-isolating contacts
  • Where possible please defer testing request until the patient or contact is no longer required to isolate.
  • If you are unsure if testing can be deferred or not, please contact the appropriate pathologist for advice.
  • If testing cannot be deferred, please consider if the test can be collected by another healthcare worker who may already be in contact with the patient e.g. Public Health Nurse.
  • If testing cannot be deferred and the patient is not being visited by another health care worker capable of collecting the test, then please complete the CSCL Home visit Request Form. If a Home visit Request is due to COVID-19 risk, the referrer MUST make it clear on the request form.
Urgent requests
  • To make an Urgent Request, please call our Home Visit Coordinator on 03 360 0842.
  • Note: These requests must be clinically urgent.
Home visit hours of service
  • Monday to Friday (excluding Public Holidays) 7.30am – 4.00pm.
  • Note: It is not possible to arrange a set time for a home visit.
Home visit management
  • If the patient is not home when we call, Awanui Labs reserves the right to request the patient to attend one of our collection rooms in the area.
  • Patients or caregivers should inform their referring medical practitioner or nurse practitioner as soon as possible if circumstances change that could affect their eligibility for a home visit e.g. patient admitted to hospital etc.
  • The medical practitioner or nurse practitioner must contact Awanui Labs as soon as possible should there be any changes to their patient’s requirements.
  • Patients who are considered to no longer require home visits will be discharged from the service after consultation with the referrer.
Rest homes
  • We require a rest home staff member to be available to assist with identification as many patients are unable to self-identify.
  • The rest home visit will not proceed if the Phlebotomist is not able to positively identify the patient.
Private homes
  • Patients must ensure that all pets are restrained and that the mobile Phlebotomist can safely gain access to the patient’s home.
  • Patients not home at the time of a visit will be advised to contact their referring medical practitioner or nurse practitioner as soon as possible to avoid the cancellation of their home visit. A letter will be sent to the referrer to confirm that home visits are still required for the patient.
  • The home visit will not proceed if the Phlebotomist is not able to positively identify the patient.
  • Patients who are unable to effectively communicate their identification, e.g. non-English speaking, must provide photo ID or have a support person present who can provide identification.
Contact us

To contact us regarding anything to do with the Home Visit Service please contact us – call: 03 360 0842 or email: christchurch.homevisit@awanuilabs.co.nz

Home visit guidelines – Timaru
Eligibility Criteria
  • Patients must be housebound due to ill health or have impaired mobility; be unable to manage everyday tasks such as grocery and shopping errands; and have no support person to provide transport to a collection centre to be eligible for a home visit.
  • A request for a home visit must be made by the referring medical practitioner or nurse practitioner not the patient, their caregiver or relative.
  • Any changes to a home visit request must be communicated to us by the referring medical practitioner or nurse practitioner not the patient / caregiver or relative.
  • Bookings are restricted to patients living within a 20km radius of the nearest Awanui Lab collection centre.
  • Bookings will not be accepted for patients requiring restraint unless assistance is available.
  • Booking will only be accepted to a maximum of four (4) weeks out unless the patient is defined as permanently housebound.
  • PLEASE NOTE: Home visits are unavailable for children or paid tests.
Notification
  • Because the schedule is not completed until the morning of, and may be disrupted by urgent requirements, it is not possible to provide users of the service with the probable visit time. As the patients are (by definition) housebound, this should not be a cause of concern.
  • Any important changes must be communicated to our Home Visit Co-ordinator promptly. For example, changes of address or collection location, patient in hospital, patient deceased.
Home Visit Management
  • If the patient is not home when we call, they will be left a leaflet asking them to come into a Collection Centre or a card asking them to contact their doctor.
  • Patients or caregivers should inform their referring medical practitioner or nurse practitioner as soon as possible if circumstances change that could affect their eligibility for a home visit e.g. patient recovers, becomes mobile, patient admitted to hospital etc.
  • The medical practitioner or nurse practitioner must contact Awanui Labs by phone or email e-mail as soon as possible should there be any changes to their patient’s requirements.
  • Patients who are considered to no longer require home visits will be discharged from the service after consultation with the referrer.
  • Cancellations: please advise the service if a regular/booked patient is hospitalised or unavailable for some other reason.
  • If a home visit is required for a certain date, please state this on the request. If not stated, we will aim to schedule on the preferred day, but non urgent requests may be moved for workload reasons.
Rest Homes
  • We require rest home staff members to be available as follows:
    • Staff member to assist on phlebotomist’s arrival with providing the phlebotomist with the patient’s location.
    • Assistance in the identification process for cognitive impaired patients or any other patient that is unable to ID themselves. Collection will not proceed If the Phlebotomist is not able to positively identify the patient.
  • For patients with dementia or aggressive behavioural tendencies when having a blood collection, a staff member is required to be present for the duration of the visit. Staff safety is always paramount.
  • Rest homes in Timaru are allocated a particular day(s) of the week for routine testing.
  • Home visit requests are only to be made by the approved referrer (Doctor or Nurse Practitioner) visiting the rest home. This includes requests for urgent visits.
  • Urgent visits requiring collection on the same day must be phoned through to the Home Visit Coordinator.

PLEASE NOTE: Awanui Labs only schedule one sample pick up from rest homes per day. Please ensure samples are put out in time for your routine scheduled pick up time. Further sample pickups outside of this time may not be able to be accommodated. Samples for pick up must be in a chilly bin with an ice pack on hot days and left at reception for collection

Private Homes
  • Patients must ensure that all pets are restrained, and that the mobile Phlebotomist can safely gain access to the patient’s home.
  • A notification letter will be sent to the referrer if a patient is not home at the time of a visit. The GP will need to confirm with Awanui Lab that the home visit is still required.
  • The home visit will not proceed if the Phlebotomist is not able to positively identify the patient.
  • Patients who are unable to effectively communicate their identification, e.g. non-English speaking, must provide photo ID or have a support person who can provide identification.
  • A support person must be available during the visit for any patients that have known behavioural or cognitive issues. For visits to community homes – the community home must be able to provide evidence of the patient’s details and be able to assist with the patient. Home visit collections will not proceed If the Phlebotomist is not able to positively identify the patient or if the safety of the phlebotomist is compromised.
Contact us
  • Home Visit requests must be made via the tick option on the eOrder electronic request form or if you do not have access to eOrders. Fill in Home Visit Request Form.

T: 03 687 2250
E: timaru.homevisit@awanuilabs.co.nz