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Infectious Diseases | Auckland | Te Toka Tumai | Te Whatu Ora
Public Service, Infectious Diseases
Outpatient Intravenous Antibiotic (OPIVA) Service
Our mission is to provide patient-centred care, optimise patient recovery, and enhance hospital capacity by supporting patients receiving outpatient antimicrobial therapy and their whānau.
The OPIVA Service provides assessment, training and ongoing support for patients requiring an extended period (usually 2-6 weeks) of intravenous antibiotic treatment. Patients requiring this type of treatment can often be discharged home, avoiding weeks of hospitalisation, and return to work or study.
The OPIVA Service collaborates closely with the District Nursing Services.
Our aim is to provide you with the necessary knowledge, skills and support to be able to give your antibiotics in the comfort of your own home. We will ensure that you are confident about giving your antibiotics before you are discharged from hospital.
Our aim is to provide you with the necessary knowledge, skills and support to be able to give your antibiotics in the comfort of your own home. We will ensure that you are confident about giving your antibiotics before you are discharged from hospital.
»What happens first?
You will meet the OPIVA nurse specialist who will visit you on your ward and discuss the service with you. You will be given an instruction booklet with details of the treatment and its course.
The OPIVA nurse will show you how to draw up your antibiotics and flush your line before and after administering the antibiotics. You will be surprised at how quickly you learn. The OPIVA nurse will monitor your progress until you can safely manage at home.
The OPIVA nurse will show you how to draw up your antibiotics and flush your line before and after administering the antibiotics. You will be surprised at how quickly you learn. The OPIVA nurse will monitor your progress until you can safely manage at home.
»What happens next?
When you feel confident about giving your antibiotics and the OPIVA team is satisfied that you are ready to be discharged, we will organise the supplies you will need to take home.
We will arrange for the District Nursing Service to visit you at home to change your PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) dressing and to make sure that everything is going well. The District Nurse will then arrange further visits with you.
You will also be asked to attend an outpatient clinic regularly to monitor your progress. Here you will be seen by an infectious diseases doctor and the OPIVA nurse specialist. A letter documenting your care and progress will be sent to your GP after each clinic visit.
We also ask that you have a blood test each Monday.
»What happens after treatment?
Once you have finished your course of antibiotics your intravenous line will be removed. This is a quick procedure that will take a couple of minutes.
In some cases you may be asked to take oral antibiotics and have further blood tests. We will continue to see you in clinic until you are ready to be discharged from our follow up care.
»Who do I contact for help?
You will be given contact numbers for the OPIVA nurse and the District Nursing Service.
