Treating more patients outside hospital and in their own homes could save the NHS more than £1 billion a year, a report has claimed.

A study by information firm Dr Foster Intelligence, which was commissioned by care provider Healthcare at Home, argues delivering sophisticated care, such as chemotherapy, and managing long term conditions in the home would result in substantially reduced costs for the health service.

The research, which is based on existing schemes in Southampton and Birmingham, follows a report from the CBI that suggested the delivery of more services at home could save £15 billion by 2015 by cutting unnecessary admissions.