- The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC), supported by IMPOWER, has released its latest report, ‘The Future is Out There: Joining up health and care for the benefit if all’, calling for urgent action to shift more care into homes and communities.
- The report argues that delivering more care and support in people’s homes is crucial to sustaining the NHS and tackling the interconnected crises within the health and social care system.
- The report highlights successful case studies of community-based care from NHS Trusts including Manchester Foundation Trust, East Surrey Hospital, and United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust, demonstrating substantial improvements in patient outcomes, including a 35% reduction in hospital readmissions, a 42% reduction in bed occupancy, and significant cost savings exceeding £3 million.
The report, produced with strategic input from IMPOWER, calls for the new Government to deliver on the long-standing promise of expanding community-based care. This shift, the report argues, is essential to relieving the immense pressures currently facing the NHS, caused by a growing elderly population, long-standing backlogs, and workforce fatigue.
The report is the third in the series, building on previous AoMRC papers that established the challenges facing the NHS and outlined potential solutions. It stresses the urgent need for a culture change within the healthcare system and calls on the Government to support a political and policy framework that enables more home and community-based care.
With senior health leaders from across the NHS and social care participating, the roundtable that informed the report identified four key areas for change: Shifting priorities and culture, Reshaping care models, Supporting the workforce, and Rebalancing funding.
One standout example from the report comes from Manchester Foundation Trust, where their ‘Hospital at Home’ initiative uses virtual wards to support patients with respiratory, frailty, and heart conditions. The programme has reduced hospital readmission rates by 35% and mortality rates by 10%, while generating over £1 million in cost savings. Similar success has been seen in other hospitals and care settings across the country.
The report concludes that the new Government has a unique opportunity to take bold steps toward a future that rebalances care away from hospitals and into homes. The report calls for a national framework to guide this transformation and calls for local health systems to have the flexibility to implement solutions that are tailored to their communities’ needs. Discover the full report ‘The Future is Out There: Joining up health and care for the benefit if all’ HERE.
Jeanette Dickson, Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said:
“After decades of talking, the time to act is now. By focusing on care closer to home, we can protect our hospitals for those who need them most and improve quality of life for people in their communities. This is the only way to ensure the NHS remains sustainable for the future.”
James Swaffield, Managing Director at IMPOWER, said:
“Our collaboration with the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges highlights the critical need to rethink the way we deliver health and social care services.
By focusing on the how of community-based models, we are not just saving money; we are improving outcomes for patients and allowing hospitals to prioritise those who truly need acute care, while building sustainable financial models.”
