HSJ webinar: Can the NHS make virtual wards work at scale?

Virtual wards were a key part of the response to the early phases of the pandemic and again to Omicron. Indeed, in late December 2021 NHS England issued urgent guidance saying a minimum of 15 per cent of covid positive hospital patients should be treated in virtual wards. And the national body’s 2022/23 priorities and operational planning guidance – issued around the same time – goes further, stating that “the scope for virtual wards is far greater”.

By the end of 2023, systems are expected “to have completed the comprehensive development of virtual wards towards a national ambition of 40–50 virtual beds per 100,000 population”. Funding has been promised to support this transformation.

So can virtual wards work at scale in the NHS? Is it possible to make such setups part of business at usual? What do we know about how to most effectively implement virtual wards? What are potential challenges and how can they be overcome? Is the 2023 target realistic – and desirable?

This HSJ webinar, run in association with Doccla, will bring together a small panel of experts to discuss the answers to these questions.

Panellists

• Tara Donnelly, director of digital care models, NHS England and NHS Improvement
• Fiona McCann, respiratory consultant and clinical lead for respiratory medicine, Northampton General Hospital Trust
• Martin Ratz, founder, Doccla
• Matthew Winn, chief executive, Cambridgeshire Community Services Trust and national director of community health, NHS England and NHS Improvement
• Claire Read, contributor, HSJ (chair)

Register for the webinar