A quarter of NHS patients could recover at home

The head of the NHS Confederation has said that a quarter of patients would recover better at home rather than in hospital.

The chief executive, Mark Farrar, said that the idea of “hospital or bust” healthcare was an outdated method and that this new idea would deliver better levels of care for patients.

“Hospitals play a vital role but we do rely on them for some services which could be provided elsewhere“, he said. “We should be concentrating on reducing hospital stays where this is right for patients, shifting resources into community services, raising standards of general practice, and promoting early intervention and self-care.”

Almost challenging the government, Mr Farrar said that the NHS faced key challenges; the forthcoming cash squeeze being amongst them, since the NHS has to save £20bn. While this method would save the NHS money, he insisted that it was not about preserving finances but delivering better care to patients.

With the NHS bill stuck in parliament almost a year after it has arrived, he argued that politicians had “failed to support the NHS even when the case for change has been clear” and needed to take bold, decisive action.

Tom Chapman