HUNDREDS of elderly patients will be treated at home instead of a hospital bed, after health chiefs launched a “transformational” pilot project.

The Intensive Home Support (IHS) team, which consists of doctors, nurses, therapists, support workers and pharmacists, is set to provide mobile care to 14 ‘virtual beds’ in Blackburn with Darwen.

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The scheme is expected to prevent almost 800 hospital admissions in its first year, which is expected to bring net savings of more than £500,000.

Health chiefs across the country have been scrambling for ways to stem the surge of patients being admitted to hospitals, which is the most expensive form of healthcare, but relatively few projects have so far come to fruition.

The IHS service has launched this week and should be fully operational by May. It will be provided by Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, after start-up funding was agreed by Blackburn with Darwen Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

The net savings over three years of the project are estimated at £2.5 million.

Sue Moore, chief operating officer at Lancashire Care, said: “The trust is working closely with partners to develop services that wrap around primary care, providing alternatives to hospital and supporting people in their own home environments.”; with the aim to prevent frail elderly people from being admitted to hospital unnecessarily or remaining in hospital when they could be cared for at home.

“Initially the focus will be in identified nursing homes with plans to roll this out to GPs and community services over the next 12 months.

“The new model of care provides a clinically led 24-hour support infrastructure with increased staffing support.

“The initial investment within Blackburn with Darwen is expected to be around £1million for the pilot year. In the first year, IHS is expected to prevent around 800 unnecessary hospital admissions which equates to a saving of approximately £500,000 when compared to the cost a hospital stay.

IHS will work in conjunction with Healthcare at Home team, which will initially provide the clinicians, before Lancashire Care incorporates a higher proportion of the staff.

Dr Adam Black, who sits on the CCG board, said: “This is a fantastic initiative, where people can be treated with a high level of intervention in their homes. We could maybe ramp it up in the future if it’s a success.”