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News

HomeFirst is back – and it’s here to stay

man being comforted by a nurse

We've launched phase two of our HomeFirst discharge pathway, working with our partners to think ‘home first’ when planning for our patients.

HomeFirst is when an assessment for a patient’s rehab care and equipment needs take place in their own home – which gives a much more accurate picture of the level of support they actually require. It also ensures long-term decisions are not made about a patient’s future while they are in hospital.

This second phase follows a successful trial of the scheme last November, in which 14 patients were able to go home earlier than they otherwise would have. This second phase includes all three of our boroughs, whereas previously we only focused only on Havering.

Bringing back HomeFirst, overseen by our Red2Green team, working closely with partners including NELFT, Age UK, our CCGs, local authorities, and the Red Cross, will help improve patient flow across our hospitals, while also reducing the amount of patients needing intervention from our acute therapy teams.

HomeFirst is important as not only do we know patients would prefer to be in their own homes where possible, it also lessens the risk of potential harm from long hospital stays, including loss of independence, and infections.

The launch of phase two this week began across Havering, while Barking and Dagenham will become part of HomeFirst later this month, with Redbridge to follow at a time to be confirmed. To begin with, it will mainly be our care of the elderly wards involved.

As well as our ward staff, our therapists (see below for more information on the expectations on our teams) will play a key role in HomeFirst, particularly in identifying patients who will benefit and explaining the scheme to them and their loved ones.

HomeFirst is operated across our Trust from Tuesday to Friday and the plan is that it will become of our business as usual. When referring patients to this pathway it’s also important to remember that length of stay does not exclude anyone – whether a patient has been with us one or 21 days, they can still benefit from HomeFirst.

Man receiving comfort from a Trust staff member

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