Children benefit from virtual Dudley hospital ward

Wayne Lewis said having his son be part of the scheme had allowed them to spend more time as a family

A virtual ward which allows children to continue treatment at home has seen more than a hundred leave hospital early, a trust said.

Parents have been taught instead to take regular observations which are automatically downloaded at hospital.

The Dudley Group Foundation Trust said the project, at Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, was "ground-breaking".

One parent said "families could really benefit".

Wayne Lewis's young son has a chronic lung disease and regularly has to be admitted to hospital.

The family has been using a tablet to allow doctors and nurses to monitor him remotely.

"It means that we can get on with work, taking children to school and just being a family without spending so much time up the hospital. I think many more families could really benefit."

Once the observations have been downloaded, five community paediatric nurses assess the data and decide whether the child needs more support.

Nurse Ruth Harris said she was proud of how the scheme has benefitted children in Dudley

One of the nurses, Ruth Harris, said they visited the youngsters if they had any reasons for concerns.

"I am proud of what we have managed to achieve here in Dudley and I am proud that other areas are seeing the benefits," she said.

Russells Hall Hospital has one in patient children's ward.

Matron Lucy Rozga said in the past it had meant children having to be transferred to other hospitals due to a lack of space on the ward.

"This means that, this winter, fewer children will have to be taken further away from home," she said.

The trust said the scheme has seen 114 children go home early, saving them 269 days of bed capacity.

They added the model had been rolled out to Walsall and Wolverhampton.