- NHS trusts we work with
- 74
- hospital sites served
- 135
- Therapy Awareness Weeks held with 7 patient organisations
- 6
1. Overview
Personal Homecare Pharmacy (PHP) was shortlisted as a finalist at the 2026 Picker Experience Network (PEN) Awards in the Joined-Up Care Experience category.
A Leicestershire-based clinical homecare provider with more than 94 staff, we work with 74 NHS trusts across 135 hospital sites. Our mission is to deliver innovative person-centred care closer to home.
2. Challenges
UK homecare has the estimated potential to save the NHS £1.67 billion a year (ABPI Report 2025: Bringing Healthcare Home). Despite its benefits, homecare can be improved to overcome these challenges:
- Paper-based prescribing and manual handovers
- Fragmented communication across the pathway
- Services built around processes, not people
3. Our approach
Our CEO and Chief Patient Officer jointly lead People and Technology as equal strategic pillars, linking board-level accountability to frontline delivery.
What we set out to change:
- Care designed around the person
- Use technology to remove the friction
We adapted the Picker Principles of Person Centred Care for care in the home, and we listen to and act on all feedback from patients, staff, the NHS and partners. Our CPO chairs the NCHA Patient Advisory Council.
4. Patients as partners
We worked with patients and patient organisations to develop our own series of Therapy Awareness Weeks, reframing homecare delivery around the patient voice.
We also re-organised our patient services team into therapy areas. Patients and patient associations helped train our staff, building real understanding of the needs of the people we serve.
We set up a Patient Council so our staff see patients as partners in shaping our services, not just recipients of them. We train people to manage their own treatment at home, supporting greater independence.
5. Safer, smarter technology
We repurposed proven e-commerce technology for a highly regulated clinical setting, applying pharmaceutical-grade safety controls, governance and compliance.
- Patient, NHS and Nursing portals, each designed with the NHS and shaped by patient feedback
- A Patient App, currently being co-designed, and an E-Sign trial
- AI-driven prescription management and new pharmacy labelling systems
- A Pharmacovigilance (PV) Case Management Module for accurate, safe reporting
Together these remove the safety risks of paper prescribing and manual handovers, giving everyone a shared, real-time view of patient status.
6. The results
By combining people-centred design with innovation, we have streamlined operations while raising care quality and safety across the pathway. Key achievements include:
- 6 Therapy Awareness Weeks held with 7 patient organisations
- Criteria met for Customer Service Excellence (CSE)
- 2026 Patient Survey feedback implemented
- Patient, NHS and Nursing portals live; Patient App being co-designed
- E-Sign trialled for safer, paperless prescribing
- PV Case Management Module introduced
7. Our principles of person-centred care
We adapted the eight Picker Principles of Person Centred Care for clinical homecare. They guide how we design and deliver every service, from referral to supporting patients to manage their own treatment.
8. Therapy Awareness Weeks in action
Working with patients and patient organisations, our team hosted a series of Therapy Awareness Weeks. Each week built real understanding of the conditions our patients live with, and helped us shape care around their needs.
“Our drive comes from a duty of care to ensure Clinical Homecare meets the needs of people and the NHS. While we must be profitable to operate, quality remains our main driver.”
Summary
- New thinking: Therapy Awareness Weeks co-created with patient organisations
- Leadership: CEO and CPO drive People and Technology as equal pillars
- Sustainable outcomes: patient portals, AI prescription management and new labelling raise safety and quality
- Involvement: patients train staff and shape services through our Patient Council
- Transferability: a replicable blueprint for the homecare sector and the NHS
Read the full case study
The four-page case study is below, or download the PDF to keep or share.
Download the PEN Awards 2026 case study
Four pages: our approach, results, principles of person-centred care and Therapy Awareness Weeks. PDF, 550 KB.
Heartfelt thanks
To the following organisations and NHS Trusts:
- Juvenile Arthritis Research (jarproject.org)
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, JIA-at-NRAS (jia.org.uk)
- Crohn's & Colitis UK (crohnsandcolitis.org.uk)
- NASS (nass.co.uk)
- NRAS (nras.org.uk)
- PAPAA (papaa.org)
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (read our Leeds case study)
- Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (read our Portsmouth case study)
Together, we deliver better care.
Find out how partnering with Personal Homecare Pharmacy can bring person-centred clinical homecare to your patients.
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