The NHS could save up to £1.7bn a year if hospitals and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) treated more patients in the home, according to a new report.
It found 1.3 million patients could be discharged from hospital sooner and receive treatment at home, saving over 14.5m bed days a year.
The Taking the Pressure Off study from Bupa called for home healthcare to be a standard offer for all patients in NHS care.
Bupa suggested patients staying in hospitals for conditions such as knee and hip replacements or infections could be discharged sooner.
According to the report, up to £1.3bn in savings could be made if patients were discharged from hospital sooner after an operation.
And an additional £390m could be saved if there were effective after care packages in place which would result in people not being re-admitted to hospital with additional complications such as infections.
‘For elderly patients in particular, the analysis has shown that home healthcare could make a significant impact on reducing the cost of re-admissions, but also most importantly improving the experience for vulnerable patients,' the insurer said.
Dr Mehmood Syed, medical director at Bupa Home Healthcare, said: "As hospitals look to meet tough efficiency targets, today's report shows the enormous savings that can be made by reducing the amount of time people spend in hospital each year.
"These savings are made possible by the avoidance of overheads and accommodation costs, which are incurred when maintaining patients unnecessarily in hospital beds.
"Home healthcare is a win-win - the NHS can save money as they are able to get on with their lives while no-one wants to stay in hospital longer than is necessary.
"We're calling for home healthcare to be a standard offer for all patients in NHS care," he added.
According to Department of Health figures, the average cost of an excess bed day is £255.
