Working with NHS boards and health and social care partnerships to develop Hospital at Home services
Hospital at Home is a short-term, targeted intervention that provides a level of acute hospital care in an individual’s own home that is equivalent to that provided within a hospital. Healthcare Improvement Scotland has established a programme to support the implementation of Hospital at Home, including work with a mixture of NHS boards and health and social care partnerships.
A Hospital at Home service must include four key elements:
- a consultant acting as senior decision maker
- care delivered by a multidisciplinary teams
- urgent access to diagnostics, and
- management of more severe conditions.
The national Hospital at Home programme includes:
- quality Improvement expertise to develop new Hospital at Home services and to optimise existing services
- a learning system to share best practice and enable services to learn from one another
- a Hospital at Home implementation toolkit to support the key stages of service development
- a national measurement approach to monitor the progress and impact of Hospital at Home services, and
- support to services to capture and share their impact.
Why Hospital at Home?
Evidence and experience points to various drivers for developing a Hospital at Home service. Key is the provision of a more person-centred care experience which avoids the risks associated with inpatient stays, such as healthcare acquired infection, and/or institutionalisation.
Though not exclusively an issue for the older population, these risks are particularly relevant for those living with frailty who are at higher risk of experiencing institutionalisation and delirium. Evidence shows that people living with frailty experience poor outcomes when admitted to a hospital due to their reduced resilience. Some 30-56% have been shown to experience a reduction in their functional ability between admission to hospital and discharge.
Get in touch
If you would like to learn more about the Hospital at Home programme and the progress being made to develop the model throughout Scotland please get in touch at his.communitycare@nhs.scot.
Please note that Healthcare Improvement Scotland cannot provide information or support for individuals in Hospital at Home care. If you, a relative or someone you care for have questions about your eligibility for Hospital at Home or specific Hospital at Home queries regarding your care, please contact your GP.