Virtual hospital wards at home treat 1,300 patients

The North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, based at Peterborough City Hospital, says it has cared for about 1,300 patients at home using the virtual wards

A hospital trust said it had treated about 1,300 patients at home using so-called virtual wards.

The scheme is being trialled by hospitals across England to try alleviating pressure on emergency wards and ambulance services.

The North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, based at Peterborough City Hospital (PCH), introduced the pilot in 2022.

Speaking at a Healthwatch Peterborough meeting, Hannah Woods, a virtual wards nurse for PCH, said that "patient safety" was still a priority.

“It's working successfully," said Ms Woods, who was speaking at the meeting on 28 March.

"We do not put anyone on the virtual ward who prefers hospital stay.

"It’s reviewed on a case-by case basis.”

Virtual wards enable patients, particularly the frail elderly, to be monitored at home by doctors using video and other technology, such as wearable monitoring kits.

The patients are visited if necessary, such as to administer intravenous fluids and medication.

The Healthwatch meeting was told all patients on the trial were contacted on a daily basis, and multi-lingual information leaflets were given for extra guidance.

The team said 95% of patient experiences had been positive, according to feedback.

Anne Young, who represents GP surgeries in Peterborough for the NHS, said patients love the trial and had a "good experience".