I completed acute care at home rotation over two months in early 2025. I was both excited and a bit apprehensive about it. I was looking forward to not only sometime away from the sterile hospital environment (both in terms of the location and emotion), but as I have a curious nature, I was interested in observing what the patient’s lives were like at home. Little did I know how much it would impact my career going forward... 

My medical school education and experience of working in secondary care were based around acute care delivered within the hospital, with rapid access to investigations and specialist input. Through my geriatric training and experience working with the Southern Trust’s Acute Care at Home (ACAH) service, I have come to realise the possibility and considerable value of delivering acute care in the community...

During my GPST2 year, I spent six months with the Hospital at Home (H@H) team at University Hospital Wishaw. Before that, I’d completed posts in General Medicine and Paediatrics, so I was really looking forward to seeing how H@H brings acute medical care into the community, allowing patients to receive hospital-level treatment in the comfort of their own homes...

Between February and August 2025, I  had the opportunity to work with the Hospital at Home (H@H) service in NHS Lanarkshire - an experience that was invaluable from an Acute Internal Medicine trainee’s perspective.

 Hospital at Home delivers hospital-level care to patients in the comfort of their own homes. Coming from a fast-paced Acute Medical Unit, this rotation offered a completely new perspective on how acute medical care can be delivered — one that prioritises person-centred, community-based care while maintaining clinical rigour and safety. ...

As a rotational physiotherapist I had the opportunity to spend 8months working with the hospital at home team. On my arrival, I was welcomed with open arms by an incredibly supportive and friendly team. Not really knowing what to expect, I initially found the thought of leaving the wards and venturing out into the community daunting; however, a part of me was intrigued and excited to see a different aspect of the patient pathway. ...

I have been fortunate to work as a Specialist SAS Doctor in a Frailty Hospital at Home team for many years and have recently welcomed trainee Doctors into our team.  Integrating them into our team of SAS Doctors, Advance Clinical Practitioners, Therapists, Nurses and Pharmacists allowed me the chance to reflect on the challenges of adapting their current hospital-based training to this new model of care and the challenges and joys observed along the way. ...

Lead Pharmacist Ambulatory Care at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and HaH Society committee member, Sophie McGlen recently wrote a blog about the role of pharmacists in HaH and virtual wards.