NHS Scotland’s hospital at home for older people programme is set to benefit from £3.6m of further investment in 2024/25, the Scottish Government has confirmed.
The initiative allows people to receive acute support treatments that would usually require a hospital admission as well as access to hospital tests under the care of a consultant in their own home.
A recently released report from Healthcare Improvement Scotland shows:
- The service is now the eight biggest ‘hospital’ for older emergency inpatients — alongside Stirling’s Forth Valley Royal Hospital
- 14,467 patients used the service between April 2023 and March 2024 — up from 11,686 between April 2022 and March 2023
- There were 93,399 occupied bed days between April 2023 and March 2024 — up 52% from 61,421 between April 2022 and March 2023
Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Belinda Robertson, associate director of improvement, said: “This announcement of additional funding will continue to improve access to Hospital at Home services and make them more sustainable to the benefit of patients across Scotland.
“It’s heartening to see that Hospital at Home services prevented over 14,400 people spending time in hospital over the past year.
“Moreover, with our support we’ve witnessed more NHS boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships embracing Hospital at Home by establishing and developing services.”
This latest round of funding for the scheme means the total investment for the initiative is more than £15m since 2020.
“Hospital at Home gives people greater independence during their recovery process,” explained Scotland’s health secretary, Neil Gray.
He added: “Evidence shows that those benefitting from the service are more likely to avoid hospital or care home stays for up to six months after an acute illness.
“It is also one of a range of measures that we have put in place to tackle delayed discharge numbers and free up beds within our hospitals.”
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