Virtual wards ‘not a silver bullet’ for NHS as occupancy levels grow
More than 8,500 patients in England were being treated on virtual wards in the run-up to Christmas, figures have revealed, as the NHS moves to ease pressures on hospital capacity.
However, experts said the so-called hospitals at home are not a “silver bullet to solve the crisis in health and social care”.
Figures published by NHS Digital revealed some 8,586 patients were treated virtually in December 2023, up from 7,886 in November.
The snapshot was taken on 21 December 2023, meaning it is likely those patients spent Christmas on a virtual ward rather than an actual hospital.
Virtual wards allow patients to receive care in their own homes, with clinical staff using apps or wearable technology to monitor them remotely.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said the “rapid expansion” of virtual wards beds and patients “is a real NHS success story”.
He added: “This not only frees up vital hospital beds for those who need them most but ensures patients can recover in the place they are most comfortable with support from families, carers and friends, and while occupancy has been growing rapidly as NHS teams make the most of all bed capacity available, we want to see continued growth right across the country so as many patients as possible can benefit."
However, Wendy Preston, the head of nursing practice at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said “virtual wards aren’t a silver bullet to solve the crisis in health and social care”.
“Whether they’re in a physical bed or on a virtual ward, patients still need to be able to see a nurse,” she added.
“But there are over 40,000 nursing vacancies across the NHS, and social care is chronically understaffed. Run effectively, virtual wards can relieve pressure, but on every single shift nursing staff are fighting an uphill battle to care for too many patients.
“If the UK government wants to turn around the state of the NHS and deliver the ‘hospital level’ care at home that patients expect, nursing staff need to see game-changing investment in the workforce.”
Source: The Independent, 15 January 2024