JP recovers from pneumonia in the comfort of his home with Hospital at Home

"I had flu-like symptoms from the beginning of 2024," says JP Ferreira, 33. "I was treating myself with over-the-counter medicine, but my health kept getting worse. Eventually, in March 2024, I went to my doctor. He did tests and diagnosed me with severe pneumonia."
"My doctor said I needed to be admitted to hospital. He mentioned Hospital at Home and explained that I could get hospital-level care and treatment, but in my own home! I had never heard of Hospital at Home, but I was excited to give it a shot."

• Discovery Hospital at Home provides care in the patient's own home, if the treating physician is comfortable with care at home, for a range of medical and post-surgical conditions that would otherwise require hospital admission. It is powered by integrated, cutting-edge remote-monitoring medical technology and supported by highly skilled clinical staff.

JP works full time as a bookkeeper and does photography part time to make extra income. "If I had been admitted to a traditional hospital, I would've had to take a lot of time off work and I was worried that I would fall behind. I knew that if I was treated in the comfort of my own home, I'd still be able to do some work, which was a bonus! That helped lower the stress of being sick and hospitalised."

Admission was seamless

"Being admitted to Hospital at Home was seamless with almost no admin needed from my side. While I was with my doctor, he used his Health ID online portal to admit me. Then I went home. Later that day, a Hospital at Home administrator phoned me to confirm my home address and the doctor's diagnosis."

"Soon after that a nurse arrived at my home. He brought all the medicine and supplements that my doctor had prescribed, as well as the IV drips. The nurse put a drip in my arm and he strapped a wireless monitoring device to my upper arm to continuously monitor my vitals."

The nurses slotted right in and the doctor was up to date

"The nurse came at the same time every day at around 07:00, 14:00 and 21:00 and would stay for anything between 1.5 and 2.5 hours. During that time, he'd come to my room to connect the drip, take my blood pressure, monitor me, and nebulise me." "On my fourth and last day of being admitted to Hospital at Home, a different nurse visited. She was up to date on everything the previous nurse had done and just picked up where he'd left off. By then I was feeling much better and sitting in the living room. The nurse was happy to connect the drip right there while I was on the couch. Both nurses just slotted right in at my home without any hassle." "And, the doctor who had admitted me phoned me or sent WhatsApp messages every day to check how I was feeling. He was always up to date on my treatment and recovery."

JP impressed by 24/7 digital monitoring

"The monitoring device on my arm was connected to an app on a phone that was left with me during my admission. A remote team of doctors kept an eye on my vitals - like heart rate, pulse, blood oxygen levels, temperature and more - through the app 24/7."

"One night at about 02:00 one of the doctors phoned me. The app had notified them that my heart rate had increased. The doctor asked me a few questions to make sure I was okay. I was very impressed by how they were able to check up on me using the monitoring device and app."

"Hospital at Home is so convenient"

JP lives with his parents, wife and one-year-old son. "Hospital at Home is so convenient. My wife was happy that she didn't have to come all the way to a hospital to visit me. It saved her time and prevented her from disrupting our son's schedule to fit in with hospital visiting hours." "We were also relieved that none of us were exposed to hospital bugs. My son had been admitted to hospital a few times in his first year. Each time he was in hospital, either my wife or I would get sick. We didn't want to bring those germs home to our young son or the rest of the family."

• Watch our video on Hospital at Home.

"A life changing service"

JP has made a full recovery and says that if he ever needs hospital treatment again, he wants to be admitted to Hospital at Home if possible. "Hospital at Home is excellent. If a patient has the option of being admitted to Hospital at Home rather than a traditional hospital, I'd say go for it. There's nothing like being treated in the comfort of your own home. While I was admitted, I could eat home-cooked food, do some work, and spend time with my family." "And, the service from the nurses was very professional. You could see that they really care about their patients." "Hospital at Home is truly a life changing service."