NHS to expand provision of home care

The NHS is to work towards providing a wider range of home-based care options in a bid to make UK healthcare more receptive to individual needs.

New measures announced by health secretary Andy Burnham have outlined plans to provide services such as haemodialysis units in the home, or sensors and pagers for households caring for dementia sufferers.

The Department of Health states that this will allow patients to spend less time in hospitals and enjoy a better standard of living, as well as helping to reduce government expenditure on healthcare.

Mr Burnham stated that these advantages make a shift towards home-based care “the right move at the right time”.

He added: “Transforming the NHS from good to great will mean becoming more people-centred and productive at the same time.”

This follows advice from the Care Quality Commission earlier this week, which called for care services in the UK to become more patient-centric and efficient.