Overview

The National Clinical Homecare Association (NCHA) is the trade body for the Clinical Homecare Industry representing the majority of organisations providing Clinical Homecare Services. There are approximately 350,000 patients in the UK receiving Clinical Homecare Services. Clinical Homecare patients receive consultant-led care in community settings. Given the choice, many patients choose to be treated at home rather than in hospital or as outpatients. The Clinical Homecare sector has been relentlessly growing at over 20% year on year. The NHS Five-year-forward view anticipates the further extension of clinical homecare services to treat patients in community settings. Clinical Homecare is often associated with high cost drug treatments and accounts for £2.1bn or 30% of the NHS secondary care medicines budget. This would rise to 60% if extended to all medicines known to be suitable for homecare. NCHA members provide patient centred Clinical Homecare Services that are safe, cost effective and ensure seamless integrated patient care. The NCHA is at the forefront of ensuring high standards are applied across the industry working closely with NHS Trusts, NHS Commercial Medicines Unit, NHS England, NHS Scotland, NHS Wales and other commissioners to ensure patients who wish to, are able to access high quality clinical homecare services. NCHA was established in 2006 and issued the first Clinical Homecare Industry Code of Practice in 2007. Since then the NCHA has gone from strength to strength, offering membership to companies who sign up to the stringent criteria of the association so patients, clinicians and NHS commissioners can rest assured that NCHA member companies have achieved a core set of standards in terms of the provision of Clinical Homecare Services.