Treating patients with serious conditions from the comfort of their own homes could deliver far greater benefits than previously thought, saving the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds while improving care quality and patient satisfaction, according to a major new study.
The most comprehensive evaluation of the ‘Hospital at Home’ model to date has found that patients cared for through West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s Virtual Hospital, delivered in partnership with Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, overwhelmingly preferred home‑based care to traditional hospital treatment.
The peer‑reviewed study, published on 8 April in Frontiers in Digital Health, analysed outcomes for 3,000 patients admitted to the Hospital at Home service between April 2023 and April 2024.
The findings demonstrate not only strong clinical and patient experience benefits, but also a compelling economic case for scaling up Virtual Hospital models across the NHS.
The evaluation found that Hospital at Home care significantly reduced the time patients spent receiving acute treatment.
Key findings include:
- Early Supported Discharge patients spent 2.8 fewer days in care on average compared with similar hospital patients.
- Hospital at Home care costs £118.49 per bed day, compared with £569 for inpatient hospital care.
- Savings of £486 per Early Supported Discharge patient.
- Savings of £3,652 per Admission Avoidance patient.
Overall, the programme delivered net savings of £1.33 million over 12 months.
Patient experience was a major strength of the Virtual Hospital model.
The study found that 95.8% of patients preferred Virtual Hospital care, and 98.3% of patients said they felt safe while being treated at home.
Source: National Health Executive, 14 April 2026
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