HomeFirst

What is HomeFirst?

HomeFirst is a programme of work which will help to deliver better care and support for people in Leeds. We are making changes to how some of our health and care services work to:

• Help more people with rehabilitation after an illness, injury, or life change. Rehabilitation helps people to stay independent and get back to doing what they usually do.
• Offer high quality rehabilitation for people at home and in dedicated community beds.
• Support more people at home when they need care and treatment. This means people who do not need to go to hospital will be able to stay at home and be looked after there.
• Help people to leave hospital more quickly when they no longer need to be there with care and support at home if they need it.
• Help to reduce delays and improve people’s experiences of moving between different health and care settings.

Why HomeFirst?

Every day in Leeds, thousands of people receive great care and support from dedicated health and care staff, volunteers, and from carers. But we know we could do even better for people. Too many people spend more time in hospital than they need to, and more people could remain independent for longer with different support.

In Autumn 2022 partners in health and social care completed a review of our health and care services in Leeds. We asked if we are achieving the best possible results for people, whether they receive the right care in the right place at the right time, and if we are helping them to live as independently as possible. We found most people did get great results and great care is being delivered across Leeds. We also saw that we had the opportunity to do even better in some cases.

We set up the HomeFirst Programme to make improvements to health and care services in Leeds where we saw the opportunity. Overall, HomeFirst will make changes which will benefit over 3,000 people every year.

How does HomeFirst work?

We are working in partnership with a range of different organisations that offer health and care services in Leeds. This includes Leeds City Council, Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Primary Care and the GP Confederation, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust, and charity and voluntary sector organisations.

We are now planning how we will make changes to our services. We will involve people in Leeds and listen to what they want from our health and care services.

We aim to have finished making improvements to services by November 2024.

What services are involved in this work?

There are lots of services from across Leeds who are involved in HomeFirst. Some of the main services we are working who provide care and support outside of hospital are introduced below.

Neighbourhood Teams

Neighbourhood Teams provide care and support which helps people to stay as well as possible for as long as possible in their own homes. The service provides community nursing and therapy services for patients aged 16 and over, whose health needs are best met by community-based nursing and therapy services.

SkILs (Skills for Independent Living) Reablement

Reablement support can help you get your independence back after an illness, injury, or life change. Reablement is when someone visits your home to:

• Support you with everyday tasks like getting washed and dressed
• Help you practise doing tasks yourself
• Find new ways for you to do activities you used to do
• Build your confidence and abilities

Rehabilitation and Recovery Beds

Rehabilitation and Recovery Beds provide time to recover with therapy support following a hospital stay to help you to regain independence to return home at the earliest opportunity. Care is provided by therapists, nurses, support workers and doctors.

Home Ward (Virtual Ward)

Home wards provide support and care to people at home when they are unwell but do not need to stay in hospital. They provide care for people who become suddenly unwell but can be safely looked after in their own home. They can also help people to return home from hospital sooner. They work in a similar way to a hospital ward. People are cared for by a team of health professionals, including doctors and community matrons.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about HomeFirst or would like to find out more about the work we are doing, please send us an email at: wyicb-leeds.homefirst@nhs.net