UK Considers Hospital-to-Home Care Amidst Recruitment Issues

183

As there is a continuous challenge faced by the UK’s health service when it comes to recruiting and retaining healthcare workers to meet hospital requirements, some advisors are endorsing the benefits of shifting care to homes from hospitals.

A new insight suggests that the hospital-to-home solutions segment can go on to become an almost $390 billion market by 2030, but that will happen only when MedTech, clinicians, and pharmaceutical players go on to find more lucrative and effective ways to collaborate.

Apparently, the NHS is increasingly coming under strain, all because of the perfect storm of elements. More than 10 years of underinvestment have left the infrastructure in shambles, with retention rates dipping, while Brexit has gone on to put a massive block when it comes to the recruitment of healthcare specialists from mainland Europe. In addition to this, the ongoing pressure of COVID-19 as well as the nation’s ageing population have meant that the number of delayed discharges is rapidly surging.

A worldwide survey of more than 500 leaders from across private as well as public healthcare suggests that an increasing burden when it comes to disease and chronic conditions, supplemented by a population that’s ageing, has gone on to increase the cost and also had an impact on health outcomes.

Research has gone on to find that every 7 out of 10 international MedTech and Pharma leaders gave the development of products and services a priority that went on to shift the site of care. Simultaneously, just over 70% of healthcare leaders see this as an opportunity and are giving priority to at-home solutions.

This goes on to include monitoring, diagnostics, and drug delivery systems that happen to be advanced so as to provide patients with care of the highest quality while at the same time protecting capacity. Apart from this, 7 in every 10 global healthcare leaders opined that their organisation has a strategy in place when it comes to migration from hospitals to homes; however, they believe that health and care professionals go on to doubt that the treatments that are delivered at home are as safe as the ones that get delivered in traditional settings.

It is well to be noted that if hospital-to-home solutions are embraced by 2030, they could very well go on to provide room for hospitals to save money and the worldwide economy to benefit.

There is anticipation that the international market for hospital-to-home solutions will increase from $320 billion to $390 billion by the decade’s end.

Despite these obvious benefits, there are some major barriers that stand in the way. Many MedTech as well as pharmaceutical players don’t have the acumen needed to collaborate with healthcare providers and also move towards home-based care. More than 60% of the healthcare experts suggest a lack of understanding among potential partners is slowing adoption in the coming five years. That said, some hospital stakeholders happen to be sceptical about transitioning from hospital to home. More than a quarter of the healthcare leaders opine that physicians were motivated to shift from hospitals despite positive outcomes. Even though the practise goes on to become more common in the next five years, this number will not be even half. All of this does suggest that the MedTech and Pharma members will have to work more closely with healthcare providers so as to dwarf the concerns they have about the shifting, if at all they have to make the most out of the scenario in the years to come.

For instance, some healthcare professionals may get worried about the environmental hazards that pose a greater threat to patients at home than in hospitals, like physical layout, sanitation, and infection control. There may also be issues pertaining to carer communication or even a dearth of education and training for family carers and patients themselves.