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Found 54 results
  1. News Article
    A "virtual ward" enabling patients who want to die at home get the palliative care they need has launched. Hospice Outreach provides a "specialised pathway" for patients identified by existing services who would benefit from support. It is part of a project that supports people at the very end of their life. Dr Victoria Bradley, of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), said it was about giving people "control and agency". OUH claims Hospice Outreach's virtual ward will mean more people will receive personalised care, including in their own homes if that is their choice. It said specialist palliative care would be "provided virtually or in person, depending on what is best for the patient". Amelia Foster, chief executive at Sobell House, said: "Being able to offer a virtual ward to those in a palliative crisis or at the end of their lives helping them to remain at home means more people can access our care in the way that they wish." Dr Bradley, who is the clinical lead for palliative medicine at OUH, said: "We can support with discharge from hospital to people's homes if that is their wish, and by reducing people's time in hospital and caring for them at home, we can offer the right support in their chosen surroundings." Read full story Source: BBC News, 14 March 2024
  2. Content Article
    Virtual wards provide hospital-level care to patients in their own homes. There are many different models of virtual wards. Some cover specific conditions (frailty, acute respiratory infections, heart failure wards), while others have a much broader range of patients. In April 2022, NHS England launched its national virtual ward programme with the long term aim of providing 40 to 50 virtual ward beds per 100,000 people in England. So far, every integrated care board in England has introduced virtual wards. Further aims of this programme include improving patient choice and experience, avoiding risks associated with inpatients stays and improving hospital flow by reducing lengths of stay and freeing up beds. Virtual wards have the potential to improve outcomes for both patients and the health care system. But we need high-quality data, careful monitoring and robust evaluations to understand if this is the case – and for which patients and in what contexts. This will provide learning and drive improvement.   This Health Foundation working paper analyses aggregate national data on virtual wards to describe what virtual wards currently look like across England and discuss the effects of virtual wards on patients, staff and hospital capacity, as well as the gaps in the evidence.
  3. News Article
    Harold Chugg spent much of early 2023 in a hospital bed because of worsening heart failure. During his most recent admission in June, the 75-year-old received several blood transfusions, which led to fluid accumulating in his lungs and tissues. Ordinarily, he would have remained in hospital for further days or weeks while the medical team got his fluid retention under control. But Harold was offered an alternative: admission to a virtual ward where he would be closely monitored in the comfort of his own home. Armed with a computer tablet, a Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure cuff and weighing scales, Harold returned to his farm near Chulmleigh in north Devon and logged his own symptoms and measurements daily, which were reviewed by a specialist nurse in another part of the county. Virtual wards provide hospital-level care in people’s homes through the use of apps, wearables and daily “virtual ward rounds” by medical staff, who review patient data and follow up with telephone calls or home visits where necessary. More than 10,000 such beds are already available across England and at least a further 15,000 are planned. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also funding their expansion. But while proponents claim patients in virtual wards recover at the same rate or faster than those treated in hospital, and that the wards’ provision can help cut waiting lists and costs, some worry that their rapid expansion could place additional strain on patients and caregivers while distracting from the need to invest in emergency care. “Virtual wards, if they deliver hospital-level processes of care, are just one part of the solution, not a panacea,” said Dr Tim Cooksley, a recent ex-president of the Society for Acute Medicine. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 February 2024
  4. Content Article
    This study from Jalilian et al., published in the BMJ, evaluated the length of stay difference and its economic implications between hospital patients and virtual ward patients. It found that the use of a 40-bed virtual ward was clinically effective in terms of survival for patients not needing readmission and allowed for the freeing of three hospital beds per day. However, the cost for each day freed from hospital stay was three-quarters larger than the one for a single-day hospital bed. This raises concerns about the deployment of large-scale virtual wards without the existence of policies and plans for their cost-effective management.
  5. News Article
    Researchers have found the costs of treating patients in a 40-bed virtual ward were double that of traditional inpatient care. The study’s authors said the findings should raise concerns over a flagship NHS England policy, which has driven the establishment of 10,000 virtual ward beds. Virtual wards, sometimes described as “hospital at home”, are cited as a safe way to reduce pressure on hospitals, by reducing length of stay and enabling quicker recovery. The study at Wrightington Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals, in Greater Manchester, found a clear reduction in length of stay but also found higher rates of readmission. The authors said this led to additional costs, with the cost of a bed day in the virtual ward estimated at £1,077, compared to £536 in a general inpatient hospital bed. “This raises concerns [over] the deployment of large-scale virtual wards without the existence of policies and plans for their cost-effective management. This evidence should be taken into consideration by [the] NHS in planning the next large deployment of virtual wards within the UK… “Virtual wards must be cost effective if they are to replace traditional inpatient care, the costs must be comparable or lower than the costs of hospital stay to be economically sustainable in the medium to long terms.” To break even, the paper said the virtual ward would need to double its throughput, but warned this would risk lowering the standard of care. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 January 2024
  6. News Article
    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.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 15 January 2024
  7. Content Article
    In this piece for the BMJ, David Oliver, consultant in geriatrics and acute general medicine, raises concerns about the way in which NHS England is using virtual wards. As well as pointing to the lack of solid evidence for the effectiveness and safety of virtual wards, he highlights lack of clarity in the use of the term, which is often being used interchangeably with 'Hospital at home', a different approach with a more robust evidence base. He also points out that staff working on virtual wards are taking workforce capacity from other parts of the health service and that the approach is placing additional pressure on existing primary and community care staff who are not part of the virtual ward.
  8. Content Article
    In this blog, Angela Osei, associate director, NICE implementation support, sets out to understand some of the challenges, benefits and considerations of setting up and running a virtual ward, from the perspective of teams on the front lines.
  9. Event
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    On the NHS75 anniversary, NHSE announced that paediatrics will be the next priority pathway for the rollout of virtual wards. With over 350,000 children in the queue for treatment, capacity pressures continue to mount for paediatric teams. The stage is set for paediatric virtual wards to address these pressures head-on, and emerging evidence is promising. Pilot sites have demonstrated paediatric virtual wards can: Reduce a child’s length of stay in hospital by an average of 3 days Decrease hospital readmission by 38% for children with chronic conditions. So what is needed to build paediatric virtual wards that work for both children and their caregivers? This webinar will dive into the nuanced approach required when caring for children at home, bringing in insights and learnings from leading UK paediatric clinicians and experts working in the field. In this webinar you will learn: The need for a fresh approach: the huge potential for paediatric virtual wards to reduce pressure in paediatric departments and why these pathways require teams to think differently Lessons from the front-line: the key take-aways from one of the first NHS sites to trial paediatric virtual wards How to build a successful paediatric virtual ward: what is needed to set up a paediatric virtual ward pathway and team for success Speakers: Zoe Tribble, Children's Nurse Jim McDonald, Black Country ICB Juliana Faleti, Paediatric Nurse Register for the webinar
  10. Content Article
    This report summarises the findings of an evaluation conducted by Health Innovation East and Health Innovation Manchester on behalf of the national Innovation Collaborative for digital health. It presents findings from an evaluation of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) virtual ward that falls within a virtual hospital managed by South and West Hertfordshire Health and Care Partnership. It aims to inform the potential wider adoption of the virtual ward model across the UK and understand the model’s potential to support people with other health conditions. It also considers the success of South and West Hertfordshire Health and Care Partnership Virtual Ward objectives to improve patient care, clinical outcomes, healthcare utilisation, and patient and staff satisfaction. 
  11. News Article
    The chief executive at a trust behind one of the UK’s first ‘virtual hospitals’ has said this model is the ‘new gold standard’ for care provision and the trust is looking at a significant expansion. West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Trust boss Matthew Coats said the trust aimed to eventually have “hundreds” of virtual beds for patients to be monitored at home. The trust has been at the forefront of NHS England’s programme to significantly expand the use of virtual wards across the NHS. It was also among the first to launch a virtual ward to monitor Covid patients at home during the pandemic. Its virtual ward model has since evolved beyond covid, to what the trust calls its “virtual hospital”, providing remote care for patients across several different pathways and specialties, including heart failure, respiratory and frailty patients, who are admitted from either a hospital bed, the emergency department or by GPs. Mr Coats told HSJ its virtual hospital is not only supporting better flow through the hospital, but is also leading to better patient experience. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 25 September 2023
  12. Content Article
    In January 2023, NHS England’s Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency services committed the health service to ease the growing pressure on hospitals by scaling up the use of ‘virtual wards’. Also known as ‘hospital at home’, virtual wards allow people to receive treatment and care where they live, rather than as a hospital inpatient, while still being in regular contact with health professionals. This article by The Health Foundation looks at how NHS staff and the UK public feel about the use of virtual wards, based on the results of a survey of 7,100 members of the public and 1,251 NHS staff members. The survey aimed to assess how supportive these groups are of virtual wards and what they think is important for making sure they work well.
  13. Event
    Virtual wards have the potential to improve patient experience by enabling them to receive care at home, and to alleviate workforce pressures by freeing up staff time. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to improve capacity and use of virtual wards if patients and staff are to feel the benefits. Additionally, there are still extensive variations progress and use of virtual wards - operationally, digitally and financially - across the NHS and integrated care systems (ICS). With central funding coming to an end, all parts of the health and care system face practical challenges in making virtual wards a positive option for the future. Against this backdrop, this panel discussion will bring together experts to discuss: how to build a model for sustainable virtual wards that meets the immediate challenges of the health and care system, but also aligns with the NHS vision and aspirations for the future what patients and communities want from virtual wards and how their voices can shape future services what opportunities there are for virtual services to enable better integration between partners across the health and care system, as well as providing better working options and flexibility for staff. Register
  14. News Article
    The NHS has heralded a “new era” of healthcare that will see hundreds of thousands of patients avoid lengthy hospital stays and instead be treated in their own homes. From September, 10,000 acutely ill patients will be cared for on “virtual wards”, using remote monitoring technology which automatically transmits data on their condition to teams of doctors and nurses several miles away. Health chiefs believe the massive expansion of the scheme, which is already the largest in the world, is essential to free hospital capacity — preventing another winter A&E crisis and helping to bring down record waiting lists. Every NHS region has set up virtual wards for frail over-65s, including dementia patients, as well as for respiratory conditions such as asthma or lung disease. From this month the scheme will be rolled out to cover under-18s, allowing terminally ill children to remain at home surrounded by family. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 28 July 2023
  15. News Article
    Tens of thousands of children will be treated in “virtual wards” to free hospital beds for more critically ill patients under new NHS plans. The Hospital at Home service will be expanded to include paediatric care in every region of England this month, the health service announced. As part of the service, clinical teams review patients daily and can provide treatments including blood tests, prescribe medicines or administer fluids through a drip. Ward rounds can include home visits or a video call, and many services use technology such as apps and wearable devices to monitor recovery. Professor Simon Kenny, the NHS’s national clinical director for children and young people, said: “The introduction of paediatric virtual wards means children can receive clinical care from home, surrounded by family and an environment they and their parents would rather they be — with nurses and doctors just a call away.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times. 5 July 2023
  16. Content Article
    Access outline their virtual ward offer and 10 case studies from NHS trusts and other organisations from which they present findings as testimony, to show the impact of virtual wards on the NHS’ ability to provide care.
  17. Content Article
    NHS England believes virtual wards could create much-needed capacity for the NHS, but progress against the national body’s 2022-2023 guidance in this area has been inconsistent. An HSJ roundtable, in association with Akeso and Masimo, explored the barriers to adoption and how they can be tackled.
  18. Content Article
    This is the recording of a roundtable hosted by the Institute of Health & Social Care Management (IHSCM) about virtual wards. Roy Lilley, IHSCM Chair and health policy analyst, discusses reducing waiting times, being innovative and sustainable and improving patient outcomes and patient journeys with a panel of speakers. The panel includes: Kris Glover, MD & Founder of Neon Health Solutions Paul Rylance, CTO, JKMCare Dr Folarin Majekodunmi, Director at Peopletoo
  19. Content Article
    This is the recording of a webinar hosted by The Patients' Association, looking at how virtual wards work and patients' experiences of virtual wards. A panel answered questions about who was suitable for care on a virtual ward, how they are staffed and what happens if you're not tech-savvy. The panel was: Jono Broad, a patient leader in the southwest of England. He is a Senior Manager for Personalised Care, NHS England South West, works on patient experience, safety and quality. Emma Matthews, Regional Community Development Lead NHS England South West, Consultant Practitioner Older People and Frailty. Dr Shelagh O’Riordan, Consultant Community Geriatrician at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust and Professional Adviser to the virtual ward team at NHS England. She is also Clinical Director for Frailty in East Kent and runs a large frailty virtual ward. Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, Chief Executive, The Queen's Nursing Institute. Crystal qualified as a nurse at University College Hospital, London. In 2017, Crystal was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for services to community nursing and her leadership of the QNI. Crystal is an Honorary Professor at London South Bank University. Patients Association member, Alan Bellinger, who represents patients on the Hospital at Home programme in Hertfordshire, and is a patient representative on the Eastern Academic Health Science Network Review of Remote Monitoring.
  20. Event
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    ‘Nurses are voting with their feet’, so said a report by the RCN in February of this year, describing the mass exodus of tens of thousands of skilled and experienced nurses. With workforce challenges an indisputable pressure facing the NHS, how can virtual wards be a part of the solution to address these pressures and support future resilience. Join this animated and thought-provoking discussion on “New Ways of Nursing”, chaired by Natasha Phillips, Chief Nursing Information Officer for NHS England, to explore how tech-enabled virtual wards have the potential to enable teams to work in new and innovative ways, release capacity, retain staff and help ICSs meet ambitious targets. Headline discussion points: How virtual wards are addressing workforce capacity issues. Case studies of tech-enabled virtual wards that have improved efficiency and patient outcomes. How virtual wards can offer news ways of engaging with the workforce that enhance wellbeing without compromising patient care. What attendees will learn: How tech enabled virtual wards are addressing NHS capacity issues head-on. How to set up a virtual ward for success and ensure buy-in from all stakeholders. The opportunity present for teams who embrace tech-enabled virtual wards. Register
  21. Event
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    What does it take to successfully implement an award-winning virtual ward? This webinar from GovConnect looks at Leicester Glenfield’s AF virtual ward for cardiovascular disease monitoring and uncovers how the ward was built, assesses the patient recruitment process and explores the meaningful relationships made along the way. Stella Vig will speak to the pioneering clinicians behind the award-winning virtual ward to discuss how they created a secure clinical pathway centred around patients to deliver ground-breaking virtual care. The webinar will increase understanding of the benefits and insights of patient engagement in integrated care and how it can lead to effective digital transformation. It will also explore how medical data was gathered using transformative tech-enabled devices, the challenges and results of a multidisciplinary approach, and the technologies available to support remote patient monitoring. In the webinar you will learn about: How to implement a successful, secure, and scalable virtual ward The challenges and results of a multidisciplinary approach The technology available to support patients from the comfort of their home Register for the webinar
  22. Event
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    When the Patients Association asked its members earlier this year if they'd be willing to be cared for on a virtual ward. The answer was a cautious, 'yes' but members wanted to know more about the system. To answer those questions, the Patients Association put together a panel, who'll explain how the NHS is using virtual wards and answer questions. Panel: Jono Broad, a patient leader in the southwest of England. Emma Matthews, Regional Community Development Lead NHS England South West. Dr Shelagh O’Riordan, Consultant Community Geriatrician at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust where she runs a large frailty virtual ward. Dr Crystal Oldman CBE, Chief Executive, The Queen's Nursing Institute. Ann Lloyd Keen, who is also a registered nurse, will chair this event. Register
  23. Content Article
    Hospital at Home is a short-term, targeted intervention that provides a level of acute hospital care in an individual’s own home, or homely setting that is equivalent to that provided within a hospital. In mid-2020, the ihub within Healthcare Improvement Scotland began working with a number of NHS boards and health and social care partnerships to support the implementation of Hospital at Home services across Scotland. This toolkit was created as part of that work, providing a range of tools and resources to support areas to implement and expand Hospital at Home services.
  24. Content Article
    This long read by the Nuffield Trust looks at priority areas where further development and action could help improve the effectiveness of virtual wards. It outlines different models for virtual wards and looks at how to ensure effective system oversight. It also highlights the need to ensure the workforce is equipped to run virtual wards effectively and safely.
  25. Content Article
    Healthcare IT News interviewed Wendy Deibert, senior vice president of clinical solutions at Caregility, a telehealth technology and services company, to talk about virtual nursing's role in helping tackle the nursing shortage.
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