Medical advances have resulted in many patients being able to perform their nutrition therapies for themselves at home.

Exactly how these treatments can be carried out without the need for medical staff puzzles some, but many thousands of patients throughout the world do so every day. However, before any nutrition patient is discharged from hospital, they and their parents or carers are given extensive training in the procedures, and it is not until everyone involved feels confident that homecare can start.

All this requires dedication and skill and there are no short cuts. The degree of support available to home-patients from hospitals varies considerably - some hospitals have only one patient, others have many. Our aim is to offer support to patients from people who truly understand – fellow patients. We endeavour to encourage patients to reach their own goals thus reaching a quality of life set by each individual. Being at home is where the majority of people want to be, which has the added bonus of freeing-up hospital beds.

Acceptance of the therapy and adaptation to life at home will vary from patient to patient.

Nobody is trying to pretend there aren’t problems - after all, up until a few years ago it would have been considered inconceivable to provide these therapies anywhere else but in a controlled hospital environment.

Most patients will feel very apprehensive once at home, and it may well take some time before an acceptable standard of living can be resumed. One of the major problems is that outwardly most patients look quite well, and therefore other people have no idea of the difficulties they face.

Conversely, the patient is never free from reminders of their treatment and their whole life can begin to revolve around their therapy.