Part of the NHS 10-year plan, external is to have more people be treated in their communities.
But the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital in Smethwick, which serves one of the most deprived areas of the country,, external has already been doing this.
Doctors visit about 20 acutely unwell people every week and a range of other health professionals provide care for many more.
Dr Sarb Clare, an acute medical consultant, said Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust had reduced its number of beds by 100 and instead invested in treating people at home and in the community.
She said acute care had been turned on its head.
“The patients absolutely love it – the fact they get to see a doctor in their own homes, we are going back full circle, aren’t we?
“We used to see our GPs, they used to come to our houses, they used to give us treatment.
“We are coming back to that, but what’s unusual is now we’ve got doctors who traditionally work in hospitals now going in patients’ homes and delivering acute care.”
Dr Clare said she never thought years ago as a doctor in hospital that she would be going into people’s homes, “but it just makes sense”.