Clinical nursing
PEG feeding and enteral nutrition
A feeding tube is daunting for about a fortnight, then it becomes routine. Our job is to get a household confidently through that fortnight.
What this involves
- Bolus and pump-assisted feeding regimens
- Tube flushing and blockage clearance
- Stoma site cleaning and skin assessment
- Balloon water checks and tube changes where in scope
- Enteral pump set-up and troubleshooting
- Carer training with competency sign-off
When people ask us for this
- A PEG has been placed and the family is newly home with it
- Site redness, leakage or granulation tissue
- Recurring tube blockages
- Feeding regimen changes made by a dietitian
- A carer wants to be trained to manage it day to day
How we approach it
Most PEG problems are site problems rather than tube problems. Redness, leakage and overgranulation are common, usually manageable, and much easier to settle when they are caught in the first week rather than the third.
We work to the regimen your dietitian and treating team have set, and we do not change rates or volumes on our own. What we do is make sure the regimen is actually deliverable in your house, with your equipment, by the people who are there at feed times.
Carer training is a real part of this service, not an afterthought. Families who want to manage feeds themselves are taught properly and signed off, with a nurse still visiting for site checks and the things that genuinely need one.
How this is usually funded
The nursing is the same whichever pathway pays for it.
- DVA community nursing, for eligible veterans, war widows and widowers, with a GP referral
- Government-funded aged care support at home
- Private arrangements, with transparent hourly rates and no waiting list
- Short-term packages after a hospital discharge
Other nursing services
Ready to arrange care for someone you love?
Call for a friendly chat, or send a referral and we will be in touch within one business day.
