Key Summary
- Homecare services, funded by manufacturers and supported by homecare providers and the NHS, allow patients to receive treatment in their own home
- This frees up hospital beds and equates to a total of 1,523,200 bed days saved, or an annual potential saving of £1.67 billion to the NHS
- But limited funding for both the NHS and homecare providers has narrowed down the services available to patients
The UK’s homecare service potentially saves the NHS £1.67 billion a year, and can help save significantly more, according to a study.
Homecare services, funded by manufacturers and supported by homecare providers and the NHS, allow patients to receive treatment in their own home, either by self-administering treatment or doing so with appropriate clinical support.
A study of homecare in Kent and Medway, done by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and compiled by ZPB, found that an average of 2.4 hospital bed days are saved per patient receiving homecare.
The report, ‘Bringing healthcare home: A blueprint for collaborative clinical homecare’, said the patients receiving homecare spent 703 fewer days in hospital beds compared to those who did not, equating to a cost saving of over £770,000.
When it is extrapolated across the UK, where 640,000 people currently receive clinical homecare, this equates to a total of over 1.5 million bed days saved, or an annual potential saving of £1.67 billion to the NHS.
The report, however, found that there were inequalities in access to homecare and is often limited by outdated, paper-based processes.
Limited funding for both the NHS and homecare providers has narrowed down the services available to patients.
Estimates indicate that companies currently invest at least £173 million per year into the delivery of homecare, with approximately 20 percent funded by the NHS with 80 percent funded by pharmaceutical companies.
The study claims that without addressing these issues, the full potential of homecare will not be realised.
