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A&E Comes Home: NHS Pioneers Mobile Doctor Service
15 Mar
Summary
- NHS Physician Response Units bring hospital care to patients' homes.
- Service prevents thousands from lengthy A&E waits and infections.
- Expansion planned as A&E trolley waits reach record highs.
A pioneering NHS service, the Physician Response Unit (PRU), which provides hospital-standard A&E care in patients' homes, is set for wider rollout. Initially established at the Royal London Hospital more than two decades ago, the PRU has been instrumental in averting thousands of unnecessary hospital admissions. This expansion comes at a critical time, following January's record-breaking figures of 71,000 patients waiting over 12 hours on trolleys in A&E departments.
The PRU teams, comprising an A&E doctor and an ambulance crew member, visit approximately six homes daily in rapid-response vehicles. They are equipped to handle a broad spectrum of medical emergencies, excluding immediately life-threatening conditions and acute psychiatric cases. This at-home approach not only reduces the burden on overcrowded A&E facilities but also offers patients a more personalized and less hazardous care experience, as hospitals can be sites for infection and loss of independence, especially for the elderly.
