A community-based service launched by East Lancashire Hospital NHS Trust (ELHT) is giving patients the opportunity to be treated at home instead of being admitted to hospital.
Hospital at Home uses an Intensive Home Support Service (IHSS) to initially assess patients from their own home. Depending on the condition of the patient, they will be treated, given the necessary equipment and monitored and supported from home - their ‘virtual ward’ - instead of being admitted into hospital.
This way, not only is the patient more comfortable staying in their own surroundings, no stress or worry is incurred over having to leave their home and, most importantly, this service frees up hospital beds for those who need them most.
A practical and resourceful way to help manage demand and pressure on hospital services, patients benefit from accessing a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals that also have access to social care support in their own homes.
Hospital at Home has already proven a success by attracting more than 2,000 patient referrals in its first months of working. After an initial assessment by the IHSS, only 10% needed to be admitted to hospital.
One such patient is Michelle, 62, who experienced several falls at home. The IHSS team brought the relevant equipment to treat Michelle before putting the correct support package in place, preventing the need for her to go into hospital.
She said: “The team has been amazing with their patience, their understanding and just looking after me so I don’t have to go into hospital.
“I can’t go out at the moment but I would much rather be in my own home so I can do what I want when I want such as receiving visitors and watching TV.
“It’s an amazing service. Thank you.”
The community teams at ELHT work non-stop to support patients in their own homes, and the ‘virtual ward’ was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to initially provide support and consultations remotely.
However, the service proved so successful winning a national Health Service Journal Award, that ELHT continued to develop the concept to support other areas of the organisation to assist patient flow and ultimately improve patient experience.
Executive Director of Integrated Care, Partnerships and Resilience for the Trust, Tony McDonald said: “We know that people can recover better and faster at home, where they are surrounded by familiar comforts and we start planning on how we can get each patient home as soon as they step through our doors.
“Thanks to initiatives like Hospital at Home we can now do that quicker and really effectively. Out of 2,000 patients referred for an initial assessment, only 10 per cent required admission to hospital. This can only be good news for our community – and of course makes sure our hospital beds are there for people who need them.
“I am incredibly proud of our strong partnerships with other local health and social care providers which makes it possible to deliver patient-focused safe, personal and effective care at home or in the community.”