Bradford Council’s Executive will be updated on the progress of a recent review of Intermediate Care Services which was undertaken by Bradford Council and local NHS partners.
Health and Care partners from across the system have worked in collaboration to implement the ‘Home First Assessment Support’ (H-FAST), transforming the way Intermediate Care is delivered, which has been recognised nationally as well as the team winning the Pride of Airedale award for quality and improvement in June 2024.
Since the introduction of H-FAST, 145 of people have been discharged from hospital and have had intermediate care needs met in just four days in comparison to the previous ‘Home First’ scheme which was six weeks.
More than 76% people have had a positive outcome, compared to 47% on the Home First scheme, and a massive 870 bed days saved allowing more beds to be available in hospital for urgent care.
With the introduction of H-FAST, forecasts show that the need for bedded intermediate care facilities across the district in the future will be significantly reduced.
People are now being discharged within 24 hours followed by an assessment, over a period of up to 3 days, in the individual’s own home to determine their ongoing care and support needs. This can vary from a package of care from an independent provider, a period of rehabilitation and reablement from the Bradford Enablement Support Team (BEST) or no further support needed due to being independent.
Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places said, “We all want to stay in our own home for as long as possible and retain our independence in our later years. Hospitalisation for too long can mean that elderly people lose that independence.
“H-Fast means that once people are well enough to leave hospital, they are immediately given intensive support to go home. The increase in the number of people having a positive outcome is great to see, the team is doing a great job.”
With the reduction in the number of beds required for intermediate care, the planned build of the new care facility in Saltaire has been withdrawn with fewer than half of the Saltaire beds likely to be required in the long term.
