Pioneering scheme to deliver hospital care in patients' home is expanded | Latest news

An initiative run by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust - aiming to ease the pressure on hospital beds – has expanded, helping more medically fit patients to get home.

The initiative, known as, Hospital at Home involves a nursing team travelling with the patient when they leave the ward to support them as they settle in at home.

One patient going home under the scheme can free up to six beds in the patient journey to help relieve the pressure across the hospitals. Since starting in November, Hospitals at Home has successfully sent home 200 medically fit patients, resulting in saving a total of 1,000 bed days. The team has also grown, initially starting with two members of staff, they are now made up of twelve staff, with plans to expand further.

Becky Saxton, Clinical Lead for Hospital at Home, based at Berman Ward 2 at Nottingham City Hospital, said: "It’s all about patient care and getting people home to their own environment. It’s proven that patients benefit from this because they are not sitting in hospital, they are not deconditioning or being exposed to infections. It can make rehabilitation a lot shorter and they recover well.”

Lillian, an 85-year-old patient, was admitted to Queens Medical Centre two weeks ago after complications with her diabetes. She is now deemed medically fit to go home but needs a care package in place. This is where Hospital at Home are able to bridge the gap and staff can deliver care in the patient’s home until that social care is put in place. Until then, a rehabilitation nurses will visit Lillian up to four times a day at her home in Nottingham.

Lillian said: "It's just brilliant, I feel much happier. Now I’m home so I’m happy. I’m not going to cry, I’m just going to relax.”