Fuerteventura General Hospital Launches Home Hospitalization Unit
The service is aimed at patients and families who need to continue hospital‑administered treatment and care while in a stable clinical condition. The unit is made up of eight professionals—three physicians and five nurses—and is led by the Internal Medicine department, in coordination with other medical specialties, responding to user demand.
The Management of Health Services of the Fuerteventura Health Area, attached to the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS), has inaugurated a Home Hospitalization Unit (HADO) at the General Hospital of Fuerteventura, led by the Internal Medicine service in coordination with the rest of the medical specialties.
The HADO team, composed of three doctors and five nurses, attends patients who must continue hospital‑level treatment and care but who are clinically stable, showing favorable evolution, a confirmed diagnosis and a prescribed treatment plan. The medical team can modify the treatment as the patient’s condition evolves.
This model provides a safe, effective and specialised alternative that can be applied to many clinical processes performed at home, enhancing patient well‑being and promoting a faster recovery in a familiar environment.
Once a patient is admitted to HADO, professionals organise daily home visits, individualised care plans, and coordinate any required hospital diagnostic tests, arranging trips to the hospital when necessary.
Capacity and Equipment
The new unit began operating on 1 December. It has a capacity of ten active home‑care beds (or places) and five additional places that are temporarily inactive but can be activated when needed.
The Home Hospitalization Unit is equipped with two vehicles for staff travel and a range of specialised medical equipment for delivering hospital‑level care at home, including:
- One portable ultrasound device
- Fifteen portable infusion pumps
- Two portable electrocardiographs
- Nine automatic blood‑pressure monitors and two manual ones
- Ten pulse oximeters
- Ten glucometers
- Ten thermometers
- Two portable refrigerators and two transport cases
- Telephone and IT devices for communication and data management
This equipment ensures that advanced care can be provided safely in the patient’s home.
What Home Hospitalization Means
Home Hospitalization is an assistance model that delivers hospital‑grade medical and nursing care directly in the patient’s residence. It is conceived as an extension of the hospital into the home, acting as a substitutive rather than complementary resource to conventional inpatient care.
Implementing this model reduces admission times, increases bed turnover, improves the organisation of health resources and avoids unnecessary hospital stays. It also enhances the quality of care and patient satisfaction by combining specialised attention with the benefits of a home environment. Moreover, home hospitalization costs 30 % to 50 % less than traditional inpatient care.
3,481 Home Hospitalizations in the Canary Islands
The launch of this unit aligns with the SCS strategy to expand Home Hospitalization across all islands, enlarging existing teams and creating new units.
In 2024, public hospitals in the Canary Islands cared for 3,481 patients through this modality. The SCS now operates units in the four reference hospitals of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, as well as consolidated teams in Lanzarote and La Palma, with a recently added service in El Hierro.
On the island of La Gomera, home care is currently provided through Primary Care and Palliative Care teams.