More NHS patients will be cared for at home and in their community to avoid them going into or staying in hospital unnecessarily, the Prime Minister, Theresa May, has announced, as she pledged to cut ‘needless’ hospital admissions and help inpatients return home sooner – through community-based ‘rapid response teams’, and dedicated support for care home residents.
Setting out ‘a major new investment in primary and community healthcare’ – worth £3.5 bn annually in real terms by 2023 – she said the ‘24/7 rapid response teams’, comprising doctors, nurses, and physiotherapists, would provide urgent care and support in the community as an alternative to hospital, including both emergency treatment and support to help patients recover closer to home, ‘to help people stay healthy and independent for longer’.
The Department of Health says that as many as a third of people in hospital stay longer than they need to. It said: “Alongside the pressure this puts on the health service, staying in hospital can be bad for patients’ health.”
