Published on: 16 December 2024

More patients than ever are being cared for in their own homes by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust (ELHT).

In October, the Trust’s virtual wards programme, Hospital at Home, treated 1,568 people in the comfort of their own home rather than being admitted into hospital.

Through a virtual ward approach, patients are treated, given the necessary equipment and monitored and supported at home, helping to reduce the pressure on the Trust’s inpatient wards and services and freeing up space for others to receive care quicker.

One patient who has benefited from being cared for on a virtual ward is Ken Simmons who said: "Having the IV drip at home, I couldn’t fault it. You are being treated at home, the nurses know what they are doing and they were superb. I'd recommend it to anyone.

“You feel better just being in your own environment, you have your family around you and I always feel safer at home. It’s a brilliant idea. It stops people going into hospital and you get as good a treatment, just at home."

The Trust’s community support teams across a range of professional groups and services are developing the Hospital at Home approach all the time, with results going from strength to strength. These include:

  • More requests for support from the Trust’s community teams being made by care homes, reducing the number of people who may have been taken to hospital by ambulance
  • Assessing over 1,000 patients in their homes within two hours of a request for help being made in October – the highest number responded to in a single month so far
  • The Trust’s work in the community being recognised nationally at the NHS Providers Conference and the Proud to be Ops North Conference

Executive Director of Integrated Care, Partnerships and Resilience at ELHT, Tony McDonald, said: “We know that people can recover better and faster at home where they are surrounded by familiar comforts which is why we start planning how we can get each patient home as soon as they step through our doors.

“Our colleagues in our community-based services are making the most brilliant difference to our patients and their families by doing just this – I am so incredibly proud of them for providing such safe, personal and effective care.”

Hospital at Home is just one of a number of community services that has been introduced by the Trust to support patients in their own homes rather than traditional hospital settings, which is not only beneficial to patients but also ensures hospital beds are used in the most effective way. Any patients interested in knowing more about Hospital at Home and if it might be suitable for their care and treatment are encouraged to ask their ward team.