NHS care to be delivered at home

Released 19/02/2010

Health Secretary sets out plans to move health services closer to patients home

Measures to shape NHS services around individual patients have been set out by Health Secretary Andy Burnham.

More dialysis at home and chemotherapy in the community will mean patients can benefit from more convenient services that help produce better outcomes and can be more efficient.

Focussing on providing care at home can also have a significant impact for social care. A report out on Thursday 18 February from the Audit Commission shows older people who have the opportunity to be looked after in their own home if they want to are happier and there are less costs to the taxpayer. There are already examples of how being innovative can have significant outcomes and save money - for example, for the cost of just one month's care package, a home can be equipped with sensors and pagers to help a family look after a relative with dementia.

Other measures include providing more services at home for children and young people who have acute or long-term conditions or disability or palliative care needs, and giving more people the option to die at home if they wish to.

Around 7000 patients across England could benefit from home dialysis - cutting out the need for regular long visits to hospital and allowing patients to lead more normal lives. Providing haemodialysis at home means that patients can tailor their dialysis sessions around their lifestyle, which can lead to benefits such as:

better blood pressure control
less reliance on medication
patients being able to lead a more normal life and spend less time away from their family
fewer admissions to hospital
greater freedom from dietary restrictions

As well as benefits to patients, the annual costs of home haemodialysis could be up to 25 percent less than providing dialysis in a hospital or renal centre, and can lead to long term savings once initial set-up costs are recovered.

Burnham said: "The time has come for the NHS to make a decisive shift in providing more care out of hospitals and in the patient's community and home.

"For too long, services have been organised to fit the convenience of the system. A great NHS will put the convenience of the patient first, and move services towards them where it is safe to do so. But care in the home can also achieve better results and save money.

"So this is the right move at the right time. Evidence shows that we can now do far more out of hospital and the NHS needs to move confidently in this direction. Fears about changing services should not stand in the way of improving care for patients. Transforming the NHS from good to great will mean becoming more people-centred and productive at the same time.

"NHS patients have already seen significant improvements in the care they receive in hospital, with shorter waits and more choice over how and where they access treatment. But the NHS needs to do more to plan services around patients - even taking services into their home. Dialysis at home is a perfect example, which can mean patients no longer have to worry about long trips to their nearest hospital three times a week while also enjoying better clinical outcomes.

"We are already seeing Lord Darzi's vision to put quality at the heart of care becoming a reality across the country, but we can go further. By making NHS services truly people-centred and ensuring that patients have access to high quality, integrated and efficient community services, the NHS could save up to £2.7 billion a year - meaning a better service for patients, and a more productive service for taxpayers."

Return to news