The cost of visit-based home care for up to two weeks in the last three months of life: a pilot study of community care based at a hospice at home service in south east of England

Purpose: The cost of visit-based community care based around a 24/7 hospice-at-home (HatH) service in the last 3 months of life was assessed.
Methods: Thirty families completed a health and social care diary of at-home visits over two-weeks following contact with the HatH night service.
Findings: Diaries captured 333 days of care provision, averaging 11 diary days per family, 708 health care professional and carer visits, lasting 604 hours at a cost of £20,192 ($24,946).
Conclusions: HatH care, integrated with community support, seems an economic proposition but highlights the complexities of assessing cost of end of life care.