NHS partners in South and West Hertfordshire are developing home-based and proactive care options for frail older people. A conference presentation published on the Central East Integrated Care Board website in July 2026 describes a Hospital at Home service, a proactive care programme, described as a proof of concept, for people at higher risk, and a Care Coordination Centre trial. If someone in your family is 65 or over and frail, it helps to understand what these services are, and what usually still needs arranging when they finish.
What Hospital at Home means
The presentation, dated 16 July 2026, describes Hospital at Home as a service that lets acutely unwell frail patients receive hospital-level care at home for up to 14 days. It sets the people it is for as those aged 65 or over with a clinical frailty score of 4 or more, who have an exacerbation of a frailty-related condition. It is NHS care. In the presentation, referral comes through the hospital, the emergency department or the Care Coordination Centre, so families do not usually arrange it themselves.
The other two parts of the picture
The same document describes a Proactive Care Programme, which uses data to identify older adults at higher risk, focused on people with moderate to severe frailty, and coordinates wrap-around care from a range of services. The aim it states is preventing emergency department attendances, admissions and decline.
It also reports on a Care Coordination Centre trial that ran from December 2025 to April 2026. The trial handled 2,574 contacts, and the document reports a 46 per cent non-conveyance rate, meaning those patients were not taken to hospital by ambulance. The partnership it describes includes the acute hospital trust, community services, mental health, social care and voluntary sector organisations.
We are a private home care provider and are not part of this NHS programme. We mention it because it is a real, recent local development that may affect how some families experience illness at home.
What families usually still need to think about
Hospital at Home is time limited. The 14 days in the presentation is the upper limit, and the document gives an average stay of 7 days. When the NHS team steps back, the practical side of daily life is still there: meals, washing and dressing, medication being taken on time, the house being safe, and someone to notice if things slip.
This is where many families in St Albans and Harpenden find themselves with a short gap to fill and not much notice. Our guide to home care after hospital in St Albans sets out the first weeks, and our post-hospital care page explains what we can arrange. If you are the one coordinating, our piece on preventing falls at home covers the practical checks worth doing before someone is back full time.
Questions to ask the NHS team
Whoever is leading the care, you can ask what will be in place on the day it ends, who to call if things change overnight, what your relative can and cannot do alone, and whether a social care assessment would help. Write the answers down. It is much easier to arrange support well when you know the date it will be needed.
Arranging support around it
We can agree a start date that follows the NHS team's, so there is no empty day in between. Visiting care starts from £34 an hour, and live-in care from £255 a day. These are starting rates, and the price is agreed after an assessment. Our St Albans team and our Harpenden team can talk it through with you.
Frequently asked questions
What is Hospital at Home?
It is an NHS service described in a July 2026 presentation published by the Central East Integrated Care Board. It gives acutely unwell frail patients hospital-level care at home, for up to 14 days.
Who is Hospital at Home for?
The presentation describes it for patients aged 65 or over with a clinical frailty score of 4 or more, who have an exacerbation of a frailty-related condition.
Can a private carer arrange Hospital at Home?
No. In the presentation, referral comes through the hospital, the emergency department or the Care Coordination Centre. A private home care provider can plan support for when the NHS team finishes.
Information checked against the Central East ICB presentation dated 16 July 2026, on 6 October 2026. Our prices are starting rates, checked on the same date.
Arranging Care Is Simple
Starting care can feel like a big step. We keep it calm and straightforward, and we are here to guide you from your very first call.
1. Talk to us
Get in touch by phone or request a callback. We will listen, answer your questions and help you understand the options, so you can decide what feels right in your own time.
2. A home visit and initial consultation
We arrange a visit to understand your routines, your home and what matters most to you. Together we agree an initial consultation and shape the support that feels right.
3. Your care begins
A small, familiar team starts your care, arriving at the agreed times and staying involved as your needs change. We remain your trusted adviser throughout.
Whenever you are ready, we are here to help.