hospital at home
The recent establishment of a “hospital at home” (UHD) unit at the Benidorm/Villajoyosa public hospital means that every public hospital in Alicante Province now has one, according to page i52 of “Información” on 28th March 2007. In addition to doctors and nurses the staff includes a psychologist, for mental health is part of its responsibility.
The unit has 19 specially trained staff and operates from 8 am to 10 p.m. 365 days of the year. It brings hospital services to the home when a discharged hospital patient needs continuing care and will save the regional health service lots of money.
This is because the estimated cost per patient per day in hospital is 250 € per day whereas attention at home will only cost 110 € per day. That’s a saving of 140 € a day for every UHD patient!
Observations from Caring Together:
The fact that the unit exists does not mean that it will be able to meet the full demand.
The figures quoted above lend weight to our argument that it is more cost effective to care for patients at home than in an institution. We assume that a small unit like a 20 bed Hospice will require more than 250 € per patient per day because a 3000 bed hospital can achieve economies of scale not available to smaller establishments.
At such prices Hospices are a luxury and therefore low on our list of targets, despite the fact that the hospice movement has provided our inspiration . Most existing Hospices currently provide palliative care at home as well as within their main centres.
So we believe that increased provision of palliative end-of-life care at home is what we should be providing and promoting. It is the best way forward, we feel sure.
Please visit the “Our targets” page to see just where Hospices stand on our list of priorities. See also the page “Thinking money”.
henry on May 29th 2007