Acute adult and older people hospital at home programme report 2023/24
Older people/acute adult hospital at home provides short-term hospital level care in a person's own home. It provides person-centred care while reducing pressure on hospitals.
We have been working with NHS boards and health and social care partnerships to expand older people/acute adult hospital at home across Scotland. We are delighted to share this report that summarises the impact of the national Hospital at Home programme in 2023/24.
Read our 2023/24 acute adult and older people hospital at home programme report.
Key highlights from the report include:
- Hospital at home services prevented over 14,467 people spending time in hospital between April 2023 to March 2024.
- There has been a 58% increase in the number of older people/acute adult hospital at home “beds” from 314 in quarter 4 of 2022/23 to 495 in quarter 4 of 2023/24.
- An estimated £36.3 million in costs avoid for hospital admissions, outpatient activity and care home support in 2023/24 due to the reduced demand following hospital at home discharge compared to a traditional hospital admission.
Speaking of the report, Belinda Robertson, Associate Director of Improvement, said:
“We know that patients benefit from receiving safe, patient-centred care in the comfort of their own home whilst continuing to benefit from the support they are used to from families, friends and carers.
“Our latest annual report for Hospital at Home services across Scotland shows that more and more NHS boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships are providing acute hospital care to people in their own homes.
“Four new services for people living in and around Dumfries, Galashiels, Lerwick and Oban have been established in the last year, and Hospital at Home services across the country have prevented over 14,467 people spending time in hospital.
“We would like to commend the Hospital at Home services for the fantastic work they’ve done to establish and grow their services.”