Chris Carver, board member of the National Clinical Homecare Association (NCHA), suggests that clinical homecare could provide a long-term solution to some of the challenges faced by the NHS. He highlights the findings of a new report.
Personalised care that fits around the patient is a well-documented NHS ambition. This goal typically goes hand-in-hand with a desire to reduce reliance on traditional bricks-and-mortar services. An estimated 31 million people in the UK say they are living with at least one long-term health condition. This is almost half of the UK population. As our population grows, so will the demand on the NHS. Projections from The Health Foundation suggest that nearly one in five of us will live with a major illness that requires regular healthcare by 2040. Clinical homecare could offer a unique answer and solution; but due to a lack of understanding and ownership, it remains one of the NHS's best-kept secrets.
Clinical homecare is a wide-ranging service, covering specialist medicines storage and delivery. This often includes the administration of medications by a trained healthcare professional in a patient's home. While every patient's needs are different, these services fall into three service pathways:
While relatively unknown, the NHS has offered these services for 30 years. As a board member of the National Clinical Homecare Association, I work with companies that are delivering these services around the UK. Clinical homecare can be used to treat a variety of acute and long-term conditions. This includes respiratory, musculoskeletal and cardiovascular conditions, as well as cancer, blood disorders and more. Currently around 600,000 people in the UK are receiving treatment in this way.
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