Peterborough Hospital at Home: an evaluation

An evaluation of the Peterborough Hospital at Home scheme was undertaken to examine the complementary roles of Hospital at Home, hospital ward and the District Nursing Service. The evaluation involved two surveys; the first was a retrospective study of records of patients admitted to one of the three care settings during 1983. The second survey was a prospective study of Hospital at Home patients in 1985 with the index diagnoses of malignant neoplasms, cerebrovascular accidents and post-operative patients discharged early from hospital. In 1985, 284 patients were admitted to Hospital at Home, and of these the largest group (73 patients) were terminally ill cancer patients. Hospital at Home provided care for more severely ill patients than those normally looked after by the District Nursing Service, and comparable in severity and outcome to those in hospital. There was an emphasis on terminal care by Hospital at Home which would make it appear to be an enhancement to the usual domiciliary nursing services available, as, for the majority of the cancer patients cared for by Hospital at Home, admission to hospital would probably not be sought.