Health group's plans for 500 'hospital at home' beds and an expansion of community services

A HEALTHCARE plan aims to create 500 “hospital at home” beds, expand services in the community and develop specialist hospitals on Teesside.

- By GARETH LIGHTFOOT

The University Hospitals Tees group, which includes the North and South Tees NHS trusts, says it has a “once in a generation opportunity” to offer something new to Teesside’s communities in its new strategy.

But it says it is still underfunded and needs to “slim down back office services” as it looks at how to meet demand in the next 10 years and beyond.

The group, which covers the University Hospital of North Tees, James Cook University Hospital, University Hospital of Hartlepool, Friarage Hospital Northallerton and numerous community healthcare sites, says it will join up teams and services from the two trusts, create specialist units and make access fair for people to get high-quality care quickly.

It plans to provide more healthcare in the community to stop people coming into hospital unnecessarily.

It wants to expand services in the community to ease pressure on A&Es, “to support 500 patients through ‘hospital at home’ to decompress our acute hospital sites”.

This ambition for “500 hospital at home beds” is aimed at getting care for patients “near to their own homes where it is right to do so”.

The plan, to be finalised for the autumn, also includes more work with social care, voluntary and community organisations. Services for older people and some specialities, including paediatrics, will be expanded.