New film spotlights community teams keeping thousands of patients well at home

A new film showcasing a service that supports around 5,000 Lambeth and Southwark patients each year to get home sooner or avoid hospital altogether has been released by Lambeth Together.

Guy's and St Thomas' @home service provides urgent care for people in their own homes, preventing hospital admissions and helping to free up hospital beds at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospitals.

The film highlights the experience of one patient, Sally, who explains how the @home service helped her recover at home during a period of intense illness, where she would otherwise have needed a hospital stay.

It also features staff from the service who explain how patients get expert care at home from a team that includes doctors, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, social workers and nursing rehabilitation support workers.

In the film Sally said: “I had bloods, I had drips, I had electrocardiograms (ECGs), ultra scans, occupational therapy (OT). I had the lot, all come into my house.”

“The difference coming home and being in your home environment [makes] – straight away you're empowered. All of a sudden you've got your own independence back.”

“And on top of that they're a really good team because they're really respectful. I mean they’re really good professionals, these people.”

“I had more continuity with the @home team than in a hospital, because I was having the same nurses, the same doctors, the same occupational therapists (OTs).”

As you can tell, I'm a great advocate because I really feel they gave me my life back. Really strongly feel that.

The @home service, who are based at the Elmcourt Health Centre in West Norwood and Walworth Road Health Centre in Elephant and Castle support people with a range of conditions including serious infections, breathing difficulties such as chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) and heart failure patients who become sick.

Josepha Reynolds, Director for Lambeth Together Neighbourhood and Wellbeing Delivery Alliance, said: “Sally’s story highlights the role @home plays in supporting people to recover and receive hospital-level care in their own surroundings. By bringing hospital-level care into people’s homes, the service allows residents to recover in the comfort of their own surroundings. For many people, that can make a real difference to their recovery experience.

“Sally’s experience is a powerful reminder of the impact their work has on the lives of residents and their families every single day.”

Dr Krishna Misra, Clinical Director for Integrated Local Services at Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “We are really proud of our @home service which helps local people get the care they need, in their own home, wherever it's safe and appropriate to do so.

“Research shows that many patients recover faster and more effectively at home because of factors like better sleep and a lower risk of hospital-acquired infections.

“Sally is just one of the many thousands of people in Lambeth and Southwark that we are helping to recover at home, by bringing together skilled healthcare professionals who monitor, treat and support patients' in familiar surroundings that they call home.”

Guy’s and St Thomas’ is a member of Lambeth Together which is a partnership of voluntary and community organisations, the NHS, Lambeth Council and others, focused on improving health and wellbeing and reducing inequalities for people in Lambeth.