At Home team in global spotlight

Coathill Hospital’s At Home team is courting interest from around the world.

A deputation from Singapore undertook a fact-finding mission to the Coatbridge facility to see the Hospital at Home initiative – safe, effective, person-centred care, equivalent to the acute hospital, in the patient’s own home – which was piloted at Coathill.

The approach has already attracted interest from Spain, Chile and Japan, where health bosses are looking at ways of tackling the challenges of their ageing populations.

Dr Eugene Fidelis Soh, Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s chief executive, said their trip proved invaluable.

“In Singapore we have very similar issues with an aging population as you do here in Scotland,”he explained.

“We heard about the work taking place in Lanarkshire through our links with Health Improvement Scotland. We wanted to see this for ourselves and learn from the experience of others on how they are addressing this issue.”

He continued:“Lanarkshire seems to be approaching these challenges in innovative ways and we’ve been very impressed with the inter-professionalism and the differing levels of expertise all looking at ways to address this.”

The Hospital at Home team is made up of NHS Lanarkshire consultants, advanced assessment nurses, allied health professionals and community psychiatric nurses.

And the team link in with the North and South Lanarkshire Council social work services, who provide additional community support to patients when required.

Harry McGuigan, chair of North Lanarkshire Joint Integration Board, said:“The approach adopted by the Hospital at Home team is key to improving outcomes for older people by avoiding, where possible, hospital admission.

“It is one of many of partnership initiatives aimed at supporting more older people at home and achieving our mission: safer, healthier, independent lives.”