Leicester hospital virtual ward scheme could be expanded

Andrew Stafford took part in the programme when he had pneumonia and sepsis

More hospital patients in Leicester are being discharged early to recover on a "virtual ward" at home.

Patients are given equipment and an electronic tablet to check their temperature, blood pressure and pulse, and then submit their readings.

The scheme was originally used for Covid patients but has since been rolled out across other departments.

For those with pneumonia it has cut the average length of stay in hospitals from 12 to seven days.

The scheme has also been made available to patients with conditions like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Now the team behind it is looking at rolling the wards out across more services, with bronchiectasis, colorectal cancer, diabetes, frailty, haematology, heart failure, palliative care and ambulatory jaundice all being considered as additions.

Comfort

Nurse Leanne Small told the Local Democracy Reporting Service patients were eager to use the scheme.

"Patients want to be at home," she said.

"They want to be with their loved ones, not having restrictions on what they can do and eat and watch on TV.

"They can have their comfort while still getting the support they need."

Twice a day, patients enter their readings and answer questions about how they are feeling.

The information is then sent through to the central system, where it will flag as amber or red if there are any concerns and a nurse will get in touch.

The programme is jointly run by Spirit Health, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

The scheme is designed to free up hospital beds more quickly

Andrew Stafford, 75, was offered the chance to use the scheme after he was admitted to Glenfield Hospital with pneumonia and sepsis.

He said: "I was only in hospital for five days and the last couple of days all they were doing was the nurses were coming around and taking your stats and feeding you and giving you water.

"If you can do that at home, it frees a bed up and you feel better at home than you do in hospital."

Children, pregnant women and those that do not understand English are not eligible for the scheme.