The ASET team aims to provide an aged care
focus for the older population when they present to the Emergency Department.
 Who are we?
We are known as ASET, which stands for Aged-care Services in Emergency Team.
The team comprises a range of health professionals. These include a 0.5 FTE
Occupational Therapist, a 0.7 FTE Social Worker, a 0.5 FTE Physiotherapist, a 0.2 FTE Dietitian, two full
time Registered Nurses, one of whom is a Clinical Nurse Consultant and is the Co-ordinator of the team, and three part-time Registered Nurses.
What do we do?
 We assess and develop a plan of care for older people as they come through the Emergency Department.
As a part of the assessment we try to gather a full picture of their physical resources and
those available in the community to support them. Among other things, we assess for physical function,
changes in memory, recent changes in health, involvement of other services and what the patient's present needs are. As a result of this assessment we may:
- Refer the patient to other community services
- Provide a recommendation or plan of care for the ward.
- Act as a resource for patients on aged care issues
- Act as resource for ED and EMU staff
Our team functions within the principles of confidentiality and respect for your privacy.
How you can access our service
There are criteria for eligibility for assessment by ASET. The main focus of our attention is
those people over the aged of 70 years who meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Living alone
- Have caring responsibilities for another person
- Receive community services
- Are likely to have self care problems
We also see people who are from Residential Aged Care Facilities and those who are younger than 70
but have complex care needs.
Where you can find us
We are located within the Emergency Department and EMU on the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital Campus.
What are our hours?
Our service is operational from 8:00 to 22:00 Monday to Saturday and from 11:30-20:00 on Sundays. On public holidays we operate within business hours.
How you can contact us
Anyone can make a referral, although it is usually the nursing and medical staff who do so. We accept referrals via:
- Pager #52676
- Red referral book in the Emergency Department
- Phone 79882
- 8am ward round and anywhere you see the ASET staff members.
More information
You can call Sharon Strahand, the Co-ordinator, on 9477 9882 or page 52676 for further information regarding this service.
Sharon is happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding ASET.
Information about the Rehabilitation and Aged Care Service is also available. Information on accessing other RACS services is available by following the links
to those services:
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