Major new investment in an innovative approach to helping provide better care in the community is set to be a ‘game-changer’ for Scotland’s growing frail population, according to a formal NHS partner

InnoScot Health believes that the announcement of a fresh £85m government boost to the specialist Hospital at Home service — supporting expansion to 2,000 virtual beds across Scotland by December 2026 — will make a significant improvement to many lives.

Head of Innovation at InnoScot Health, Robert Rea said: “Thanks to personalised, remote, real-time technology, the Hospital at Home service provides high-quality, patient-centred care for frail people living in their own homes, avoids unnecessary hospital stays, and frees up capacity.

“With some 35 per cent of the population over 65 identified as mildly frail, 15 per cent moderately frail, and five per cent severely frail, the need for acceleration of dedicated, targeted innovation is clear.

“Now, thanks to this timely further investment, I believe we are increasingly turning the tide in Scotland’s efforts to deliver innovation-driven improvements in better managing and coordinating care in the community and striking the right balance with social care and hospitals.”

Injuries caused by falls are thought to be a leading cause of hospital admissions for those over 75 — with the number of people in that category projected to grow by 340,000 over the next 25 years — but Hospital at Home tech means that many of those falls can be avoided.

The fresh multi-million-pound boost comes in tandem with the national rollout of specialist frailty services across all 30 of Scotland’s A&E departments by the end of this summer, a move aimed at reducing waiting lists and the duration of hospital stays.

Announcing the additional investment during a visit to NHS Forth Valley’s Hospital at Home service, First Minister John Swinney said it would help to “ensure many patients can receive first class NHS care in the comfort of their own homes and not have to travel to a hospital where it isn’t required”.

He insisted that the expansion would also be aimed at “improving the flow of patients throughout the NHS and generating greater capacity for staff”.

Amongst frailty-targeting homegrown tech is the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). The judgement-based tool helps assess illnesses, function, thinking and understanding to generate a frailty score for further assessment.

CFS is available on the Right Decision Service — a ‘Once for Scotland’ source of digital tools enabling people to make quick and safe decisions based on validated evidence.

InnoScot Health initially worked in partnership with the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) to help develop the Right Decision Service, which was then launched by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS).

InnoScot Health now has legal manufacturer responsibility for calculators, software, and decision support tools that are integrated into the Right Decision Service.

Robert continued: “We know that innovation is a vital asset for improving frailty services, and we can help support NHS Scotland staff in identifying and developing solutions which not only change lives but also realise time and cost savings which can be redeployed back into the health service.

“Inspiring and encouraging the healthcare workforce to come forward with ideas which shift the focus from acute to community is key to the future of NHS Scotland.”

InnoScot Health is seeking ideas from health and social care professionals that can help transform the quality of life for people living with frailty, while helping NHS Scotland adapt to changing demographics and increases in service use.