Intermediate care

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Definition of intermediate care

There appears to be some confusion over what intermediate care actually is. The DH defines it as ‘a range of integrated services to promote faster recovery from illness, prevent unnecessary acute hospital admission, support timely discharge and maximise independent living’.

There is growing evidence on the appropriateness of intermediate care as an alternative to traditional forms of care. Local evaluations have shown that its use reduces acute hospital admissions and leads to fewer residential/nursing home placements.

Older people NSF

In the older people NSF, intermediate care has a high profile. Older people are the main users of the NHS. They make up around a fifth of the national population, but occupy almost two thirds of general and acute beds. They are three times more likely to be admitted to hospital than the population as a whole. In England, the vast majority of patients whose discharge is delayed are older people.

If the NHS is to meet its challenging targets for reducing waits for admission to A&E, and waiting times for admission to elective surgery, it must free up more hospital beds. Elderly people who are repeatedly readmitted to hospital can take up huge capacity. Such readmissions — the so-called revolving door syndrome — are of concern to all hospitals and their PCT commissioners.

Significant opportunities for NHS influencers concern the delivery of appropriate communication messages on the benefits of products that can demonstrably help in keeping patients out of hospital.