Reducing the pressure on NHS services: Treating patients at home and in the community
Lloyds Clinical is one the UK’s largest and most experienced providers of specialist clinical care outside of hospital. As policy makers seek to shift care from hospitals to communities, Lloyds Clinical is ready to partner with NHS providers to deliver patient-centred care closer to home.
Capacity is the most pressing challenge for the future of cancer care with NHS trusts under pressure to cut waiting times.
Lloyds Clinical have developed four community-based healthcare centres, in partnership with NHS trusts to provide injection and infusion services for cancer patients. The four centres release hospital capacity by providing trusts with additional capacity of over 20,000 hours of treatment time per year.
Community-based healthcare centres bring care closer to home, offering more personalised care for patients with greater flexibility which puts patients in control of their treatment, helping them live more independently.
Clinical treatment at home and community-based healthcare centres can be introduced in targeted areas to tackle geographical disparities in treatment provision.
“Our partnership with Lloyds Clinical has enabled the Medicines at Home Nantgarw Support Unit to become an integral part of our service, highly regarded and valued by patients. This collaborative approach has allowed us to deliver high-quality local care while supporting us in managing capacity and aligning with national strategies for delivering care closer to home. The partnership exemplifies the positive outcomes achievable through innovative solutions delivered alongside committed partner teams, ultimately enabling more patients to access timely, compassionate care within their own communities.”
– Anthony Calagon, Deputy Chief Pharmacist of Velindre NHS Trust
The Challenge
The most pressing concern for healthcare professionals, patient groups and stakeholders involved in cancer care, is capacity. NHS providers are under pressure to meet treatment targets and cut waiting times. Patients are struggling to access appointments and often are required to travel long distances to receive their treatment.
The Approach
Accessible, patient-centred care is crucial in supporting those with major conditions. Lloyds Clinical has developed four community-based healthcare centres in partnership with NHS trusts, to provide injection and infusion services to cancer patients. They offer an alternative treatment pathway for local patients to be treated in their community.
Our community-based healthcare centre model releases capacity in hospitals for those who need treatment, reducing cancer waiting times by supporting the trusts to treat patients in line with 31 day and 62 day targets.
Combined, our healthcare centres provide NHS trusts with additional capacity of over 20,000 hours of treatment time per year. This increased capacity also reduces the need for overtime in existing services, strengthening workforce resilience.
Case Study: Velindre University NHS Trust
Velindre University NHS Trust is responsible for providing a number of services including non-surgical tertiary oncology services, serving a population of 1.7 million.
In the heart of the local community
The Velindre community-based healthcare centre was launched in partnership with Velindre Cancer Centre (Velindre University NHS Trust) and Tenovus Cancer Care. Based in the heart of the community of Nantgarw, it offers a range of clinical treatments for oncology, which patients would usually have to go to hospital to receive. It offers free parking, vastly reduced time in waiting rooms and patients are able to see dedicated nurses, ensuring there is always a familiar face.
Capacity, competency and compassion
The Velindre service delivers 250 treatments per month, with capacity to increase to 350 treatments with current staff. To ensure safety, nursing teams are supported by Lloyds Clinical’s highly-qualified Lead Cancer Nurse and Healthcare Centre Nursing Services Manager. All our nurses are Oncology trained and have completed their SACT passport. Nursing teams are trained in both BLS and ILS and accredited annually with the support of the Practice Development Nurse.
Improved patient experienceImproved patient experience
Patient feedback on their experience of having treatment at the Velindre healthcare centre is overwhelmingly positive with 97% of patients likely to recommend the service to others. Transferring treatments which are traditionally hospital-based closer to home reduces patient anxiety, allowing patients to focus on living their lives. The healthcare centre model offers more appointment time, which reduces the stress and anxiety of clinical appointments. Patients receive care in a clinical setting with minimal disruption, away from the busy hospital setting, in a safe effective way.
Policy recommendations
Community-based healthcare centres, delivered in partnership with NHS trusts, can be adopted and scaled quickly. We welcome the Government’s ambition to shift care from hospitals to community and through both our community-based healthcare centres and treatment at home, partnering with NHS trusts freeing up nursing care in hospital for those who desperately need it. Our healthcare centres offer trusts a way to deliver financial efficiencies without compromising the patient experience.
Healthcare centres also provide a real solution to help tackle geographical disparities in outcomes for cancer patients by reducing travel time and offering community-based treatment, away from the busy hospital environment. Currently many patients are travelling long distances for treatment, with some struggling to access treatments at all. New community-based healthcare centres could be introduced in targeted areas where access to care or patient experience is suffering.
These interventions put the patient at the heart of care, providing community-based solutions for patients who can be treated outside of hospitals, whilst freeing up nursing care in hospital for those who desperately need it.
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