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Hertfordshire’s Hospital at Home service is set to feature on BBC Look East tonight (Wednesday 15 February), telling the story of a patient who was able to get home sooner thanks to the service.

Brian Smith has been speaking to the BBC about his experience after suffering a cardiac arrest, which – following a period at Lister Hospital in Stevenage – saw him continue his recovery at his Welwyn Garden City home.

The 80-year-old is among thousands of NHS patients in Hertfordshire who have benefited from Hospital at Home, which provides care that traditionally takes place in a hospital to patients in the comfort of their own home.

This includes face-to-face nursing care and therapy, as well as remote monitoring services for a range of conditions for up to two weeks. This care is provided by doctors, nurses, therapists and pharmacists.

Brian’s wife Marion has said taking her husband's observations using remote monitoring technology and sending them back to the Hospital at Home team was easy and "anybody could do it", adding that “every day the team were phoning me and I just never felt alone”.

Dr Elizabeth Kendrick, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust’s Medical Director, has also been interviewed for the story – explaining how “people want to be in their own homes where they're surrounded by their own things, eat their own food and sleep in their own beds."

You can read an online version of the story on the ‘Beds, Herts & Bucks’ section of the BBC website, and look out for the TV version on BBC Look East tonight (15 February) from 6.30pm (available on BBC iPlayer for 24 hours after broadcast).

Find more Hospital at Home information on our website.