Briefing / The value of community services: comparison with acute settings

The NHS long term plan has reversed an established trend of overlooking the importance of community health services in the delivery of care. The need to expand community health services was emphasised in the Five year forward view to support the development of a population health approach and this has been developed in the recent plan. However, while it is recognised that caring for people in their own homes or communities is beneficial to health and wellbeing, understanding where it can have the most impact continues to be a challenge.

This briefing is the first of a series looking at how services delivered in the community add value to both the patient and the wider health and care economy. This report focuses on the value of delivering services in the community that were traditionally provided in an acute hospital setting. Future briefings will consider how community services support prevention and improve patient activation plus look at the sector’s role as a system integrator.