‘Hospital at home’ plans cannot alone fix NHS pressure, ministers warned

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “We desperately need action to tackle the vast workforce shortages, staff exhaustion and burnout, and the inability to free up capacity by discharging medically fit patients in a safe and timely way.” Patricia Marquis, RCN director for England, also said it was the right aspiration. “When the Prime Minister organised a health summit a few weeks ago, one of the striking things that came out of that, which many of us knew beforehand, was that if you can have the right bespoke package of care, then someone can be more comfortable and easily as well cared for as in hospital.” Announcing the plan, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said that the plan would help ease pressure on stretched A&E services. “The health and care service is facing significant pressures and while there is no quick fix, we can take immediate action to reduce long waits for urgent and emergency care,” he said. “Our extensive planning ahead of winter has helped to boost capacity – from extra 111 and 999 call handlers, to new falls services and more beds – and we now aim to build on that progress to help speed up care and improve the experiences of patients.” The plan will see urgent community response teams scaled up, with hopes that it will increase the number of referrals and patients seen by healthcare staff within two hours.