21 February 2023
Clinical societies and patient charities working across inflammatory disease specialties have joined us to raise public concern around the safety and reliability of Homecare Medicines Services across the UK.
We have joined with the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), British Association of Dermatologists (BAD), National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS), National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS), and Crohn's & Colitis UK (CCUK) to support a joint statement. The statement follows concerns raised about the standards within Homecare Medicines Services by patients and clinical staff both living and working across the relevant disease areas.
The full statement reads;
“We, the undersigned, are coming together to publicly raise our concerns about the current and historic reliability of Homecare Medicines Services across the United Kingdom. This widespread unreliability is distressing and endangering patients and needs to be resolved.”
“Our members, patients, and supporters have reported issues that range from lengthy waits for patients to commence treatment, an unreliable system for managing prescribing, delays in care reprovision, and a culture of poor customer service by Homecare providers. These issues have left both patients and NHS staff frustrated when things go wrong, and put patients at risk of unnecessary pain, suffering, and a diminished quality of life.”
“We understand that performance management processes are in place between the NHS and some individual Homecare providers, however, given the cyclical nature of underperformance within the sector we do not have the confidence that these mechanisms are sufficient to put services on a long-term, sustainable footing, or to guarantee excellent outcomes for patients and the health service.”
“Enabling more patients to get their treatments at home remains a key ambition for the NHS, however, the last major review of the Homecare sector was carried out over a decade ago.”
“With significant ongoing issues in the sector, we believe the time is right for thorough scrutiny of Homecare Medicines Services. We call on governments across the four nations, the NHS, and parliamentarians to work with us to ensure this can take place in a timely and effective manner.”
Signatories;
- Ali Rivett – CEO, British Society for Rheumatology
- Dr Christian Selinger – Chair IBD section, British Society of Gastroenterology
- Sarah Sleet – CEO, Crohn’s and Colitis UK
- Dr Mabs Chowdhury, President, British Association of Dermatologists
- Clare Jacklin, CEO, National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society
- Dale Webb, CEO, National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society
Commenting on the joint statement Head of External Affairs for BSR Jack Buck said; “BSR has been leading the calls for holistic scrutiny of the Homecare sector since September 2022 and we are pleased to be joined in these calls by partner organisations from the dermatology and gastroenterology sectors.”
“Clinicians and patients across the inflammatory disease area are dissatisfied with the way in which Homecare Medicine Services are currently operating, and it’s time for the NHS, government across the four nations, and parliamentarians to carry out a thorough investigation.”
He continued, “Whilst BSR agrees treating patients at home is the right ambition for the NHS, we’re also clear that these services must be on a sustainable footing, deliver the best possible care for patients, and ease pressure on our hard-pressed NHS staff. It is BSR’s view that these expectations are not sustainably and reliably met by the Homecare industry, which is why it is essential for an investigation by the relevant bodies to take place.”
If you have any media enquiries in relation to this release, please contact our Head of External Affairs,
Jack Buck at Jbuck@rheumatology.org.uk.