Home First

Home First is a new partnership approach to provide more community-based care in Dorset and reduce unnecessary hospital stays.

To begin with, NHS and social care services in Dorset are teaming up to help people out of hospital more quickly and recover in the comfort of their own homes wherever possible.

As soon as a person is ready to leave hospital, they will be discharged home – or to an appropriate care setting – and assessed to see if they require additional support to aid their recovery.

Home First is in line with new government ‘discharge to assess’ guidelines, as well as evidence which indicates people recover more quickly in a home setting. It will help ensure Dorset has sufficient bed capacity to meet demand.

Future work will focus on reducing hospital admissions, and providing the support required to help people remain safe and well in the community.

Home First brings together staff from Dorset’s acute hospitals in Bournemouth, Dorchester and Poole, community teams from Dorset HealthCare, and social care services from both Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council and Dorset Council.
Together, they form a virtual One Dorset team, divided into five clusters – Bournemouth and Christchurch, Poole, east Dorset and Purbeck, north and mid-Dorset, and Weymouth and the Jurassic Coast.
A single point of access (SPA) co-ordinates referrals from the acute hospitals and liaises with cluster team leads to ensure patients are promptly assessed and provided with appropriate support once they have returned home (or to another care setting).

University Hospitals Dorset: 0300 019 8499 or patientexperienceteam@uhd.nhs.uk
Dorset County Hospital:0800 783 8058 or pals@dchft.nhs.uk
Dorset HealthCare: 0800 587 4997 or dhc.pals@nhs.net

University Hospitals Dorset (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole hospitals): 0300 019 8714 or carersupport@uhd.nhs.uk

Carers’ Resource Information and Support (CRISP)
Telephone: 01202 128787

Carers Support Dorset
Telephone: 0800 3688349