News and events

There’s no place like home, and even when you’re not feeling well it can still be the best place to receive help and recover. Thanks to the Herts & West Essex Hospital at Home service (HAH), run by HCT, the East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) has been able to introduce a pilot for a new service that does just that.

It will see less people waiting to be seen in emergency departments, as paramedics work with doctors and nurses to identify patients who can be treated safely at home. By treating patients in their own homes (or care home) EEAST patients will get the help they need much sooner than going to emergency departments for diagnosis and further treatment.

Hospital at Home has been operating in Hertfordshire for some time, but this is this first time an ambulance service has been able to directly link up with the service. The new partnership with EEAST is aimed at Category 3-5 cases. Emergency patients and those requiring time critical care will be taken straight to hospital for treatment. 

The new service works by using technology to link up with an acute local community service like Hospital at Home. Meaning that existing community facilities that are part of the local healthcare system, including highly trained doctors and nurses, are being better utilised. This ‘one system’ approach is fundamental to the success of this EEAST’s new service in which patients who have dialed 999 can avoid going to the emergency department. 

HCT Chief Executive, Elliot Howard-Jones, said: “Through working hand in hand with paramedics from the ambulance service our staff are identifying patients who would be suitable for community-based healthcare and who can be referred into Hospital at Home. This means patients can be seen sooner by the right healthcare practitioner – saving hours of delays, in some cases unnecessary trips to the emergency department, and in many cases providing more appropriate care. This in turn means fewer people waiting to be seen at hospitals and more ambulances available to help more patients.”

Patients referred to Hospital at Home have access to nursing care, therapy and remote monitoring services in the comfort of their own home or care home. A team of GPs, nurses, therapists and pharmacists oversee the patients care and ensure HAH is a safe alternative to hospital admission or being seen in an emergency department.

A week-long trial conducted earlier this month saw 103 patients identified as suitable for Hospital at Home. Of these, 69 were not conveyed to hospital. There was also a significant drop in delays on the previous weeks figures (down from 80 minutes to 15 minutes).

Elliot Howard-Jones, added: “Our Hospital at Home service is well established and has been operational since the early days of the COVID pandemic. It has been developed to support a whole range of patients who can now receive care, treatment and monitoring in the comfort of their own home – including those undergoing surgery in acute hospitals. Working as one healthcare system to extend access to EEAST is a momentous occasion as it not only means patients get the care they need when they need it – but it also means we are working together to reduce pressure on other services while still providing quality local healthcare”

For more information on our Hospital at Home service, please visit our Hospital at Home webpage.