Enhancing Hospital at Home services at Kettering General Hospital

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.”