NHS Confederation calls for increased focus on home-based care

The NHS Confederation has highlighted the importance of wide-ranging systemic change within the NHS in order to ensure more patients are treated in the community and the home.

A report from the organisation's Community Health Services Forum has suggested that a shift in the default setting for healthcare delivery away from hospitals would improve the quality of care people receive, while also helping to minimise expenditure.

It calls for development of a 24-hour access process for community health services to minimise emergency hospital admissions, increased use of telehealth technology and a community-based rehabilitation programmes to help break the 'admission, loss of independence, readmission' cycle.

Jo Webber, interim director of policy at the NHS Confederation, said: "It is time we started thinking differently right across the country and making sure investment supports innovative service delivery that supports patients' independence and recovery."

This comes after the organisation suggested last month that the introduction of the personal health budget scheme will help to deliver a more patient-centric approach to care provision.