Community care in Croydon is to undergo a £2.6m transformation that health bosses hope will keep patients out of hospital.

An estimated 2,000 older adults will be receive treatment in their houses and care homes as part of the major new programme, designed to help patients live more independently while saving NHS money and reducing demand on emergency staff.

The programme, a partnership between Croydon Health Services NHS Trust and Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), will see community NHS workers and council social services staff  assess patients' physical and mental health needs to prescribe early care to avoid unnecessary hospital stays.

The strategy could save £4.9m from Croydon's NHS budget.

Trish Murphy, head of community nursing at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, said: "Nobody wants to have to spend time in hospital if they don’t have to.

"The programme will mean that Croydon residents, particularly the elderly, will be able to remain independent and healthy by being treated in their own homes rather than needing to have a stay is hospital."

Your Local Guardian: Croydon University Hospital

NHS bosses hope the programme will keep patients out of hospital

The programme will also see the launch of a 24-hour 'one-stop shop' where GPs and hospital staff contact an experience community nurse to get expert advice on health and social care options and a round-the-clock rapid response service, launched this week, which can dispatch nurses and therapists to provide immediate treatment to patients in their homes.

The trust said it hoped the changes would mean fewer patients reaching "crisis point" and needing urgent hospital treatment, reducing demand on Croydon University Hospital's beleaguered accident and emergency department.

John Goulston, the trust's chief executive, said: "We have been looking at how we deliver care, moving services into the community, closer to people’s homes.

"These changes will mean our local community gets compassionate care which takes into account all of their needs, keeping them healthier, more independent and out of hospital.

"It will also benefit our acute service, ensuring we can look after the most critically ill patients when they need it, while still supporting people to remain well at home."

Croydon's A&E is the fifth busiest in London, which an average of 33,518 ambulance admissions a week - the equivalent of 92 a day.