The RCP has published a new report calling for investment in ‘hospital at home’ services that provide specialist medical care in the community across Wales.
Supported by the British Geriatrics Society, the No place like home report emphasises that keeping older people out of hospital and in their own home is an important priority, as highlighted in the BGS document Right Time, Right Place: Urgent community-based care for older people published in August 2021.
Community-based teams can help to reduce hospital admissions, get people home more quickly, and improve the quality of patient care.
The RCP report explains how the vision of care closer to home as set out in the Welsh government’s long term plan for health and social care, A Healthier Wales, must be supported by a significant investment in community resource and staffing, especially in intermediate care.
Professor Sam Abraham, Chair of BGS Wales, said:
As the population of Wales ages and pressures on the healthcare workforce increase, it is essential that we consider ways of providing care to older people closer to their homes and that health boards look at preventative commissioning for such services. For many older people, being admitted to hospital brings risks as well as benefits, including the risk of hospital-acquired infections and deconditioning. By providing care to older people in their own homes, hospital admissions are reduced and patient care and satisfaction can be improved. We support the RCP’s calls for more extensive roll-out of services such as virtual wards and Hospital at Home across Wales."
