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Health in the Home

Now available in the munster region.

Health in the Home

Health in the Home is a home health service delivered by trained nurses, available to Irish Life Health members, allowing patients to continue certain IV treatments & other therapies in their own home.

How does Health in the Home work?

Health in the Home enables you to receive acute clinical care, which might ordinarily be delivered in hospital or a clinic setting in the comfort of your own home. This care is delivered by our provider TCP Homecare who are a team of specialised nurses and will keep your medical team informed of your care every step of the way. This service is backed up by a 24-hour patient helpline.

All medications or medical supplies you may need are provided and dispensed through our clinical providers, so you don’t have to worry about sourcing these.

​What do patients think?

Patient satisfaction is extremely high due to the convenience and comfort of being treated at home as well as the benefits of one-to-one personal care.

Health in the Home also removes the stress of staying in hospital, no travel or parking charges for visitors and less impact on daily childcare routines & family life.
Check out this short video of our member Ciaran who found the service invaluable:

Customer Satisfaction with TCP Homecare nurses is 100% across all areas of professionalism, clinical expertise, punctuality and communication*.

100% of patients surveyed would be happy to use the service again*.

“The nurses were phenomenal – couldn’t recommend them anymore, always great at communicating. They took down my queries and contacted the team for me, it was a sublime service 10/10.”*

Some of the services we provide are listed below, however this list is not exhaustive, so please contact us if you have any queries;
  • Administration of IV medications including antibiotic and steroids
  • Compounded antibiotics.
  • Administration of sub cutaneous medications with a view to train the patients.
  • Wound care including Negative pressure dressings, conventional dressings.
  • Drain management including wound drains, pigtail drains, pleurx drains.
  • Phlebotomy services
  • Training and education service to support early discharge.
  • Chemotherapy disconnections
  • IV total parental nutrition training and education.
  • Stoma care education and training.
To find out more

Ask your GP, consultant or nurse if your care could be delivered using our Health in the Home service. Alternatively, you can contact the Irish Life Customer Care Team on 01 562 5100. The cost of delivering your care is covered by Irish Life Health.

Key questions about Health in the Home

Who is eligible for Health in the Home (HITH)

All Irish Life health plans are eligible; however, some geographical restrictions do apply. Your GP or Consultant must support a referral to the Health in the Home service and be willing to complete a referral form.


Referrals should support an earlier discharged from Hospital or admission avoidance for acute care.


How can I be referred to Irish Life Health in the Home (HITH?)

Ask you Consultant / Nurse Manager if you are appropriate to be treated at home.


Your Consultant must also agree to allow you be treated at home as they retain the responsibility for your care.


You must also agree to the terms and conditions of the service providers.

Who provides the Nursing care on behalf of Irish Life Health?

TCP Homecare (TCP) provides the nursing care on behalf of Irish Life health as agreed under the service contract.


A clinical screen will be carried out by TCP Homecare prior to the acceptance of your referral for clinical suitability.

Where does the medication or other equipment come from that is needed to treat me at home.

TCP Homecare will supply all the items including intravenous medications needed to treat you at home. These items will be dispensed through their pharmacy and delivered directly to your discharging address. If your treatment is longer that 1 week, you will received subsequent deliveries until your treatment is completed.


Stock delivered will also include sharps bins – please ensure you have a safe place allocated for the storage of stock and sharps bins in your home.


TCP Homecare do not supply any oral medications – these will need to be collected from your local pharmacy as normal.

How long does it take to get set up on the service?

This will depend on the several factors:


-Completed referral with all fields completed from your referrer


-Approval from Irish Life


-Nursing availability with TCP Homecare


-Time of the day the referral is received


We recommend you speak to your GP/Consultant well in advance of your planned discharge date about access to Health in the Home. This will enable us to support your discharge in a timely manner and prevent any delays in discharge for you.

What geographical areas are covered?

The nursing service is offered in the following areas subject to terms and conditions - Dublin and greater Dublin area, Louth, Meath, Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Galway, Wicklow, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick.


Occasionally patients may be seen outside these areas as capacity allows. This will be assessed on a case by case basis.

Once I am accepted, how does the service work?

Once accepted you will be notified of your discharge date by your referrer/ ward manager.


TCP Homecare will arrange the delivery and Nurse visit to coincide with your discharge date.


The TCP Homecare nurses will confirm by phone the time of his/ her visit.


On arrival the nurses will explain the service and again ask you to consent to the Health in the Home service. The nurse will then carry out the nursing treatment in line with the referral request.


The nurses will complete an electronic report on every visit which will be automatically sent back to your Consultant if he/she has requested it.


Any clinical concerns over your condition at the time of the visits, will be reported immediately back to the referring medical team and a plan put in place.


The attending nurse will be happy to answer any questions you may have during the visit.

If I feel unwell between nurse visits what should I do?

If you are experiencing an acute emergency e.g. chest pain, please call the emergency services on 911.


If you have any questions about your condition , a blocked line or are experiencing a non-emergency issue please call the Irish Life Nurses on Call service on 1800 936 260.


This number can be called 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Will I need to return to the hospital during my treatment at home?

On occasion you may be required to return to hospital. This will be needed if:


-Your attending nurses is concerned that your condition has detoriated or has not resolved completely


-Your referring doctor wishes to see you back for an outpatient appointment


-There is an issue with your line for administering your antibiotics that cannot be resolved at home


-Any other occasion as requested by the referring doctor or the nursing team

What happens after my treatment at home is finished?

Your attending nurse will confirm with you that the treatment is completed and that no extension of service has been requested by your referring doctor.


The attending nurses will also confirm any appointments required post the treatment at home e.g. removal of the line that was used to administer your antibiotics.


Arrangement will be made for all the stock and sharps bins to be removed from your home by the nursing service.


You are requested to complete a patient satisfaction survey to share your experience of the service – this will help us to develop and improve the service in the future. Please ask your nurse for a copy of the survey

*Source: Health in the Home patient survey, January 2024.

Access to this service is subject to receipt of a completed referral from your GP/Consultant and subject to approval by Irish Life Health and our clinical providers TCP Homecare. Terms and conditions apply. See your Table of Cover and Membership Handbook for details.

Under this benefit we will cover the costs of a home nursing service, provided by TCP Homecare Limited*, where your consultant has approved your early discharge from hospital and has consented to your treatment being continued at home. The home nursing is limited to administering your prescribed treatments such as intravenous antibiotics, specialised dressings such as negative pressure dressings and other therapies. This benefit is only available for home nursing immediately following a medically necessary in-patient stay in a medical facility covered under your plan, or to prevent admission/readmission to a medical facility covered under your plan. This benefit is not available where TCP Homecare Limited* cannot provide the home nursing service for any reason including where they are fully booked or where your home is not in an area serviced by TCP Homecare Limited*. The receipt of the home nursing service operated by TCP Homecare Limited*is subject to TCP Homecare Limited’s*terms and conditions and is outside the control of Irish Life Health. This benefit must be pre-authorised by Irish Life Health.

Information is correct as at December 2024