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Diabetic foot complications are among the most serious and challenging conditions faced by people living with diabetes. Foot ulcers, infections, and delayed wound healing can quickly escalate, often resulting in lengthy hospital stays or even amputations if not managed promptly and effectively. At Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the specialist diabetic foot clinic plays a vital role in helping patients access rapid, multidisciplinary care designed to prevent complications and improve outcomes.

By extending hospital-level support beyond the ward and into the community with our Hospital at Home services, HomeLink Healthcare is helping to reduce unnecessary admissions, shorten inpatient stays, and improve the patient experience.

Supporting the Diabetic Foot Pathway

The Multi-Disciplinary Diabetic Foot Team at Kettering General Hospital (KGH) brings together Podiatrists, Diabetes Consultants, Vascular Specialists, Pharmacists, and Nursing staff to care for patients with high-risk diabetic foot conditions such as ulceration and infection.

Traditionally, many of these patients would require prolonged hospital stays, and reduces outpatient visits for IV antibiotics, wound care, monitoring, and rehabilitation. However, advances in Hospital at Home services now mean that many clinically stable patients can continue receiving treatment at home, in familiar surroundings, instead.

This is where HomeLink Healthcare adds significant value. Our teams of nurses, therapists, and support staff provide a range of interventions directly in patients’ homes, including:

• IV antibiotic therapy
• Complex wound care
• Clinical monitoring and assessments
• Rehabilitation and physiotherapy
• Personal care and reablement support
• Phlebotomy and ongoing observations

Dr Michael Pierides, Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Kettering General Hospital commented:

“Having worked in several hospitals throughout my career and with IV antibiotics in both community and intermediate care services, I can say hand on heart that the service provided by the KGH at Home team is by far the best.

They consistently deliver a high standard of care, always striving for excellence and holding themselves accountable. The team is highly professional — punctual, reliable, and supported by robust processes and pathways that remain open to feedback to continuously improve quality and efficiency.

KGH at Home are exceptional team players and constructive collaborators, creating a truly positive experience for patients. The feedback I see is overwhelmingly positive, and it’s easy to understand why: the staff are kind, caring, and compassionate, and they take a genuinely holistic approach to patient care.

In every sense, this is a service that sets the benchmark for community-based IV therapy and intermediate care.”

Reducing Pressure on Hospital Beds

Hospital capacity remains a major challenge across the NHS, particularly for acute and specialist services. By supporting early discharge and admission avoidance, we help free up beds for patients who require inpatient treatment most urgently.

Our recent case study describing our partnership with Kettering General Hospital highlighted measurable benefits, including patients spending an average of 15 fewer days in hospital and improvements in patient outcomes and service productivity.

Delivering Patient-Centred Care

HomeLink Healthcare’s model aligns closely with the NHS shift toward more community-based, personalised healthcare. Our Hospital at Home services are designed not only to improve operational efficiency but also to enhance patient choice and comfort.

For patients attending the diabetic foot clinic at Kettering General Hospital, this means care is no longer confined to hospital walls. Instead, treatment can continue in a setting where patients often feel more relaxed, supported, and independent.

For diabetic foot patients, this approach can be especially beneficial. Long inpatient stays can impact mobility, independence, and mental wellbeing. Receiving treatment at home often enables patients to maintain more normal daily routines while still accessing specialist clinical care.

The partnership also improves continuity of care. Communication between hospital specialists and HomeLink’s community teams helps ensure that patients receive coordinated treatment plans and ongoing monitoring throughout recovery.

A Modern Approach to Diabetes Care

As diabetes rates continue to rise across the UK, services like the diabetic foot clinic at Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are under increasing demand. Innovative partnerships with organisations such as HomeLink Healthcare demonstrate how healthcare providers can work together to deliver safe, effective, and compassionate care outside traditional hospital settings.

By treating suitable patients at home, the partnership helps reduce pressure on acute services while giving people living with diabetic foot complications access to high-quality care in the place they know best — their home.

If you think your organisation would benefit from a partnership like this please call us on (020) 3137 5370 or fill in the form below.

Background

Kettering General Hospital (KGH) provides acute healthcare services to the population of North Northamptonshire and South Leicestershire. With approximately 600 beds, KGH is one of the largest hospitals in the region, treating  around 150,000 patients annually across inpatient and outpatient services.

The hospital has a strong track record in meeting national standards for care and patient safety, consistently performing well in areas like emergency department wait times and elective procedures.

Hospital at Home services at KGH

KGH first introduced its Hospital at Home service in 2018, launching a successful pilot programme that provided acute-level care for patients in the comfort of their own homes. Delivered by an independent provider, this service enabled patients to leave the hospital earlier while still receiving clinical support tailored to their needs. By offering an alternative to extended inpatient stays, the service helped reduce the strain on hospital resources.

In mid-2023, recognising the importance of this service and its potential for expansion, KGH issued a tender to find a provider to continue delivering the ‘KGH at Home’ service for an initial three-year contract. HomeLink Healthcare entered the bidding process through the NHS SBS Patient Discharge Services Framework Agreement and was announced as the preferred provider in February 2024, with mobilisation beginning in March and the new service going live at the beginning of June 2024.

Service mobilisation and delivery

A key priority during service transition was to maintain service delivery, whilst safely transferring patients and staff from on eservice to another. HomeLink worked closely with hospital and community teams to make the transfer of personnel as smooth and uneventful as possible, ensuring continuity of care for patients and that the relationships staff had established with the hospital were maintained.

To support the transition, HomeLink implemented a comprehensive onboarding process, which included staff training on new systems and equipment, shadow visits, and orientation to updated processes. Some of HomeLink’s most experienced community-based staff members worked alongside the existing team, providing hands-on support during shadow visits to help them adapt to new workflows. This approach ensured that there was no disruption to patient care during the handover. 100% patients already receiving care continued to do so without any break in service, and the high standard of care was consistently maintained.

To facilitate the planned expansion of the service, HomeLink’s dedicated mobilisation team bolstered staffing levels during the transition to ensure readiness for increased demand, particularly during the winter months.

Scaling the service to meet growing demand

KGH identified the need to increase capacity to meet rising demand. HomeLink responded by increasing the capacity of the service from 15 to 20 patients, with some days exceeding 25. This not only increased capacity and also created operational headroom within the hospital, allowing for more efficient use of inpatient beds, reduced delays, and improved patient flow.

Reintroducing the service to KGH staff

Although the KGH at Home service was well-established, HomeLink recognised the importance of re-engaging hospital staff to highlight its benefits and expand referral opportunities. Raising  awareness of the service’s potential across different clinical specialties has enabled the service to evolve and has identified new patient cohorts who could benefit from home-based care.

Delivering greater value and supporting hospital productivity

Since taking over the service, HomeLink’s focus has been on maintaining the strengths of the original service while improving its efficiency , productivity and value. We’ve worked closely with KGH to ensure that the service continues to deliver cost savings and help meet productivity targets, particularly around elective procedures.

The service now offers a wide range of home-based clinical care pathways, including general nursing, wound care, brace and collar care, IV therapy, personal care (bridging packages of care), physiotherapy, and stoma care.

Impact

Since HomeLink Healthcare took over the service key improvements have been made to enhance patient outcomes and hospital productivity.

“The KGH at Home team consistently provides high‑quality, patient‑centred care, ensuring people receive safe and effective treatment in the comfort of their own homes. Their communication is excellent, offering clear and timely updates across services whenever needed. The team demonstrates strong clinical oversight, responsiveness, and continued flexibility in the support they provide. Their ongoing commitment plays an important role in maintaining patient flow and enhancing the overall patient experience. Their professionalism and compassionate approach make KGH at Home an invaluable part of our care system.”

– Joyce Cousins, Associate Director of Operations, University Hospitals of Northamptonshire

Referral responses

Time taken to accept or decline referral is on average one hour and referral to assessment completion is an average on 20 hours.

Patient outcome measurements

A new feature introduced by HomeLink was the measurement of patient outcomes while on the KGH at Home service. Using EQ-5D-5L, early results indicate that patients are experiencing, on average, a 27% improvement in their self-reported clinical outcomes. Specific areas of improvement include:

• 31% improvement in mobility,
• 30% improvement in self-care,
• 16% improvement in usual activities,
• 18% improvement in pain and discomfort, and
• 21% reduction in anxiety and depression.

On average, patients receiving care through the Hospital at Home service are spending 15 fewer days in the hospital, helping to free up beds and improve overall hospital productivity.

HomeLink Healthcare’s seamless takeover of the Hospital at Home service at KGH not only preserved the high standards of care but also introduced significant improvements that deliver better value. With no disruption to patient services, we’ve ensured that the hospital can meet growing demands, particularly during critical winter months. Our focus on enhancing capacity, efficiency, and staff engagement continues to support KGH’s broader goals of improving patient flow and reducing waiting times, ensuring a more sustainable and responsive healthcare service.

Below are some thoughts about the service from Dr Michael Pierides, Consultant Physician and Endocrinologist, Kettering General Hospital.

“Having worked in several hospitals throughout my career and with IV antibiotics in both community and intermediate care services, I can say hand on heart that the service provided by the KGH at Home team is by far the best.

They consistently deliver a high standard of care, always striving for excellence and holding themselves accountable. The team is highly professional — punctual, reliable, and supported by robust processes and pathways that remain open to feedback to continuously improve quality and efficiency.

KGH at Home are exceptional team players and constructive collaborators, creating a truly positive experience for patients. The feedback I see is overwhelmingly positive, and it’s easy to understand why: the staff are kind, caring, and compassionate, and they take a genuinely holistic approach to patient care.

In every sense, this is a service that sets the benchmark for community-based IV therapy and intermediate care.”