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Minister of State for Care Stephen Kinnock met staff in the Hospital at Home programme for east and north Hertfordshire recently to learn more about the way in which this innovative approach is improving care for local residents.  Managed by Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust (HCT), Hospital at Home is a partnership programme run by the community trust and East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust. 

The minister was joined by local MPs Andrew Lewin and Keith Bonavia as they toured the Hospital at Home hub in Stevenage to learn more about how this approach reduces avoidable hospital admissions, allows patients to be discharged home more promptly from hospital and uses remote technology to treat more people at home for a range of conditions.

With the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan aiming to deliver three big shifts in the NHS moving from hospital to community, from sickness to prevention and from analogue to digital, the Hospital at Home model and the highly effective role it plays in managing general NHS pressures in the system demonstrates these principles in action. 

 

Minister Kinnock said:  “Our 10 Year Health Plan will make the NHS fit for the future, shifting healthcare out of the hospital and into the community

“It was fantastic to visit the Integrated Care Hub in Stevenage. I saw the great work of dedicated staff at the Hertfordshire NHS Community Trust, treating patients in the comfort of their own home, which is better for them and less expensive for the taxpayer.”

 

Elliot Howard-Jones , Chief Executive of Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust said: "We were delighted to show Minister Kinnock how our gold standard community-based Hospital at Home service effectively reduces hospital admissions, improves patient outcomes, and alleviates pressure on the wider NHS system. Our HCT staff use their significant experience of delivering community services to work well with our NHS partners.

" Through the inspiring Hospital at Home service, our Urgent Care Coordination Hub and our Proactive Care model, the Minister could see how we are already delivering the changes in the way that care is provided to patients that we need to deliver an NHS fit for the future."

 

Hospital at Home in east and north Hertfordshire is in high demand, consistently caring for more than 200 patients who might otherwise have been hospitalised. HCT is one of the first community trusts in the country to partner with the technology firm Doccla which produces the equipment used to help monitor patients’ health. The model focusses on identifying seriously unwell patients whose illnesses can be successfully treated with expert support at home, helping them to avoid being admitted to hospital. It does this by accepting patients with a wide range of conditions, including those with multiple conditions. 

 

Justin Daniels , Medical Director at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust said: “We are very grateful to our partners HCT and really value the work they do in trying to avoid hospital admission and to get patients home as quickly as possible.”