23rd March 2026
Colleagues from the Southern Health and Social Care Trust have contributed to the UK Hospital at Home Society Conference in Edinburgh earlier this month.
The Trust’s Hospital at Home service was the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, set up as a pilot in 2014. It led the way in challenging the traditional model of hospital admission, demonstrating that high quality acute medical care can be safely and effectively delivered in a patient’s own home.
Since then, it has continued to develop and expand offering a community first approach to providing timely acute care to older people. Led by a consultant geriatrician, the team of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals treat acutely unwell patients aged over 65 in their own home, nursing or residential homes. Last year they cared for 3,780 patients, up to 60 people each day, who would otherwise need inpatient care.
The conference brought together clinicians, researchers, managers, patients and others from the Hospital at Home community, to connect, share research and experiences and learn from each other.
The team had at total of 10 posters on display showing the positive impact that this community first model is having for patients and families from a number of professional perspectives including physiotherapy, nursing, dietetics, medicine and pharmacy.
Nurse Deborah Toal, presented in the ‘Workforce and Training’ session on promoting excellence and quality through nurse education and development in Hospital at Home
Dr Patrica McCaffrey, Divisional Medical Director for Older People Services chaired two sessions of the conference, on ‘Hospital at Home and Cardiac Disease’ and ‘Risk-holding and Complexity’ which included a presentation from Consultant Geriatrician Dr Michael Goggin on a complex case of recurrent productive cough.
Speaking after the conference Dr McCaffrey said: “Our team provides medical intervention and multidisciplinary input to patients, where they feel most secure, in their own home.
“We see every day, the positive impact that living in your own surroundings with face-to-face interaction has on health and wellbeing and are always keen to improve our service. We were delighted to share our experiences with and learn from colleagues across the UK on how we can continually develop to provide the best possible care and achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients.”
The posters showcased at the conference were:
- Enhancing nursing confidence and competence in Hospital at Home H through simulation based education.
- Senior nurse led management of deteriorating patients in the out of hours period in a Hospital at Home Service : A clinical audit.
- Hospital at Home Dietitian: Leading the way for nutrition of acutely unwell older adults at home in Northern Ireland.
- Development and implementation of a standard pharmacist medication consultation tool.
- A pharmacist consultation tool as part of the routine practice of Hospital at Home pharmacist medication reconciliation and review.
- Improving falls management in our Hospital at Home team.
- It takes a village (poster with video).
- Simulation-enhanced interprofessional education in the training of dementia in our Hospital at Home Team.
- Evaluating the impact of an antibiotic policy change on clostridium difficile infection in a Hospital in the Home Service in Northern Ireland.
- Using grip strength as a frailty indicator in Hospital at Home.
In a video produced by the team which was shared at the conference, one patient’s husband sums up the service “the hospital came here.”
Watch ‘It takes a village’ here
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