Home care scheme safe for child patients - study

A children's Hospital at Home service in south London has helped free up 11,000 bed days for child patients in four years, research suggests.

Under the Evelina London Children's Hospital service, nurses visit patients in their homes to perform procedures normally done in hospitals, such as treating wounds, giving medication, taking blood and measuring heart rates.

A study of how effective the scheme was between 2018 and 2022 estimated it could have helped 4,427 children have shorter hospital stays or avoid an admission altogether.

Consultant paediatrician Dr Ronny Cheung said it was improving patients' experiences and believed it should be used more widely in future.

The service runs across Lambeth and Southwark, helping patients who may otherwise have been admitted to either Evelina London, based at St Thomas' Hospital at Waterloo, or King's College Hospital in Denmark Hill.

"The idea is to keep children out of hospital unless they absolutely have to be there," said Dr Cheung, the study's lead researcher.

The study, published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood journal, concluded that for many children, the scheme was just as safe and effective as being treated in hospital.

"It's much better for children, better for families and actually better for the health service as well."

Debra Mansi 's son, Gui, 14, has complex medical needs, including spina bifida and hydrocephalus.

However, the amount of time he spends on a ward at the Evelina London has reduced by about 85% since she signed up for the Hospital at Home scheme, she said.

"When he was younger, I'd need to take him to hospital, and then he could be there for a month. And that could happen maybe four times a year," Debora said.

"But now with the Hospital at Home team, if Gui needs anything that I can't do myself, I'll call them and they'll come. If he has an infection, they will come twice a day, and they are really amazing."

Debora said Gui now has more time to do his schoolwork and enjoy family time.

"It's been a game changer for us."

The initiative, also known as virtual wards, is an NHS strategy to reduce hospital admissions and is being used in many trusts across England.

Dr Cheung said, based on his findings, he believed it should be rolled out further.

"We've already shown that the Hospital at Home model can work for adult patients, but until now there has been a lack of evidence showing it can be translated across to children and young people.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]