THE NHS has announced that virtual wards have seen more than 110,000 patients receive urgent care from the comfort of their own homes since the launch of the program.
It follows the implementation of virtual wards in April 2022, which saw some patients discharged sooner than usual following hospital stays, and many avoid hospital all together to be treated.
An independent evaluation by Private Public Ltd examined more than 22,000 care spells and found that the program has had a positive impact on those undergoing non-elective care.
There was shown to be one fewer hospital admission for every 2.5 virtual ward admissions.
The report also explained that positive net benefits were associated with virtual ward provision, with an annualised net benefit of more than £10m for those examined.
It also showed evidence that the effectiveness of the virtual wards is expected to increase over time; cost of admission falls as more patients use virtual wards.
Virtual ward bed capacity in the south east has grown 20% in the last six months, and the proportion of technologically-enabled beds has also increased by 10%.
Dr Syed Hasan, South East Virtual Wards and Virtual Care Lead, said: “Feedback from patients, carers and clinicians across the South East tells us that people prefer this delivery of care for their relatives.
“I am delighted that this unique evaluation has shown that virtual wards work in the South East, and that their expansion is good for patients and good for the NHS.”
Dr Ashwani Peshen, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the ICB, said: “Virtual wards are an important part of our system’s approach to managing the increasing number of patients presenting to our A&Es.
“In Kent and Medway, we are continuing to improve the way patients are admitted to a virtual ward, including through developing our clinical co-ordination centres.
“These allow clinicians, such as paramedics and GPs, to ensure patients are admitted to the right pathway at the right time as soon as possible.
“This independent evaluation demonstrates how virtual wards have an important part to play in the future of providing safe, effective care outside of the traditional hospital setting.’’
Dr Lalitha Iyer, Frimley ICB’s Chief Medical Officer, said: ”The evaluation highlights the positive impact virtual wards can have for our patients through avoiding hospital admissions and allowing them to be treated at home.
“This large-scale evaluation supports Frimley’s ambition to develop further our out-of-hospital offer, which uses remote monitoring to support patients to remain in their own homes.
“It’s also encouraging to see that virtual wards help reduce the demand in our hospitals.”
PPL Senior Advisor and former Nuffield chief executive Nigel Edwards said: “PPL has been working on virtual wards since their inception, which is why we’re incredibly proud to be launching the South East Region virtual wards evaluation report with NHS England today.
“The report is a culmination of nine months of work to assess the impact of virtual wards on activity, expenditure, and quality in the South East of England.
“It contains key lessons around what makes an effective virtual ward, including how to make these models work for the wider health and care system as well as for patients, enabling them to remain at home whilst receiving hospital care.
He explained: “As part of our evaluation work, we looked at cases where the ability to assess patients in their own home enabled a much better understanding of their reality and the context of their condition to inform appropriate care.
“We believe this is the largest evaluation of its kind into virtual wards, giving us the most complete picture to date of the impact of them in the UK.”
