Accelerating diagnostics at home – Point of care testing in virtual wards and urgent community response
The Health Technology Adoption and Acceleration Fund (HTAAF) supported the introduction of Point of Care Testing (PoCT) within virtual ward/Hospital at Home, and urgent community response services in Somerset and Devon, enabling faster, more informed care at home.
Impact
Somerset:
- 17 PoCT devices deployed across the Hospital at Home respiratory and frailty pathways.
- 90% of patients had their care plans progressed immediately, reducing delays and improving continuity of care.
- 80% of patients avoided further visits.
- In 60% of cases, results were interpreted within ten minutes.
- In 97.5% of cases staff reported improved confidence in clinical decision-making.
Devon:
- 10 PoCT devices deployed across Plymouth, South Hams, and West Devon.
- Nine of ten home visits used PoCT, with results available in under three minutes.
- Medication was adjusted in four out of seven cases and decision-making was expedited in three.
Project summary
This project aims to enhance community-based care by equipping clinical teams with point of care diagnostic tools that provide rapid results in patients’ homes.
The pilots, delivered through virtual wards and urgent community response teams, have already shown benefits in expediting care decisions, reducing unnecessary hospital visits, and increasing staff confidence.
For patients, this means faster treatment, fewer journeys to hospital, and more involvement in their care decisions. Both sites are in the early stages of implementation, with promising initial outcomes and ongoing evaluations to inform long-term adoption.
In Somerset, patients reported a positive experience, trusted the result, and felt reassured by the speed of decisions. Care and treatment were improved and accelerated. Staff echoed these findings, highlighting the value of PoCT in delivering quicker, more effective care and increasing reassurance for patients and families.
In Devon, work also focused on enabling interoperability with wider systems to support integration and sustainability. Staff were overwhelmingly positive, describing PoCT as easy to use and effective in supporting faster, more confident clinical decisions. It enabled shared decision-making with patients and families, reduced travel and additional visits, and was particularly valuable in urgent situations to determine whether patients could be safely managed at home.
Rationale
Access to timely diagnostics remains a significant barrier to effective community-based care, particularly in rural and coastal areas. Virtual wards and Hospital at Home models often depend on lab-based tests which delay treatment.
PoCT addresses this gap by delivering immediate results, improving patient care, reducing pressure on acute services, and supporting the shift towards more personalised, home-based treatment. This responds to national priorities in remote monitoring, urgent care, and reducing health inequalities.
Key stakeholders
- Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust are leading the PoCT pilots in partnership with Devon and Somerset Integrated Care Boards.
- Health Innovation South West is supporting delivery through HTAAF programme management and evaluation, facilitating knowledge sharing and aligned regional rollout.
Next steps
Evaluation and refinement of the PoCT pathway continues at both sites, with an emphasis on training, digital integration, and real-world application. The region is actively exploring wider scale-up, building on the early success and insights to support more resilient and responsive community care services.
