FORUM: Hospitals at home fit for the future

On Monday 20 January, the Academy of Medical Sciences’ FORUM is hosting a workshop in partnership with the British Geriatrics Society to discuss how to deliver hospitals at home for people who are experiencing, or at risk of, frailty.  

Hospitals at home allow people who would usually need a hospital bed to access time-limited and critical care from their home or care home. This could improve peoples' health outcomes and increase patient and carer satisfaction, such as by enabling older people to maintain or get back their independence. Hospitals at home could also free up hospital beds and reduce pressure on the healthcare system.  

Hospitals at home may be particularly beneficial for older people who are living with, or are at risk of, frailty. Associated with a decline in function and resilience, frailty is a condition that affects around 10% of people aged over 65 years. The number of people living with frailty increases to 50% for those aged over 85. In England, more than 4,000 people every day are admitted to hospital because of frailty. For some older people, hospital admission can lead to a decline in physical ability and an increased risk of infection or delirium. Prolonged or severe delirium, when someone suddenly becomes confused, can increase the risk of developing dementia. Hospitals at home could help those older people who are at risk, and who would prefer to remain in a familiar setting, to recover better. 

However, delivering hospitals at home for people who are living with (or at risk of) frailty can be challenging.  

• There is a variation of different hospital at home models across the UK. This can make it difficult to learn from best practice and identify the core components of a successful hospital at home when setting up and developing a service. 

• There are also challenges around workforce and training of healthcare workers to deliver integrated care at home. Delivering hospital care at home is also supported by unpaid carers and/or care workers.  

• It can be difficult to evaluate the benefits and outcomes of hospitals at home, and the experiences of patients and carers themselves can often be overlooked.  

In partnership with the British Geriatrics Society, this FORUM workshop will discuss how to overcome these challenges. It will bring together health and social care, the commercial sector, academia, government bodies, funders, charities, and people with lived experience (including carers). 

This one-day workshop will take place in-person in Edinburgh at 102 West Port, EH3 9DN on Monday 20 January. For further information, please contact [email protected] 

The Academy’s FORUM provides a neutral and independent space for individuals from across different sectors and groups including: 

• academia 

• the commercial sector 

• health and social care 

• people with lived experience 

• Government 

• the charity, regulatory, and wider healthcare sectors.  

FORUM brings together participants from these groups to meet and take forward national discussions on scientific opportunities, technology trends and developments for healthcare.