Nottingham: Patient thanks NHS for gift of Christmas with family

Peter Benson will spend Christmas at home in East Bridgford while receiving "virtual ward" care

A patient in Nottinghamshire will be able to receive treatment at home over Christmas after being admitted to a hospital's "virtual ward" service.

Peter Benson arrived at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) with acute pancreatitis two weeks ago.

The 76-year-old returned home on Tuesday to spend Christmas with his family while continuing to access care.

Hospital bosses said he would have had to stay in hospital for treatment before the introduction of the service.

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), which runs the hospital, said modern technology will allow Mr Benson to be monitored remotely through a system known as a "nerve centre".

Mr Benson was admitted to the Queen's Medical Centre towards the beginning of December

He will have regular home visits from a nursing team, who will be able to take blood tests and make sure he is well over the festive season.

Mr Benson, of East Bridgford, said: "I am so pleased that I am able to go home and be with my family for Christmas, it means such a lot to be able to spend it with them.

"It is great that technology is being used in this way to get people back in their own environments quicker."

The trust said a virtual ward can have up to 100 patients on them at any one time - the equivalent to about four wards full of patients.

'Innovative'

It said the initiative helps the hospital safely discharge patients sooner, meaning more beds will be available for patients who need them most.

A total of 765 surgical patients, who have accessed virtual wards, have been discharged early over the past year, according to the trust.

Mark Simmonds, deputy medical director at NUH, said: "The growth in the use of virtual wards to provide ongoing care has helped significantly with the elective recovery process and has helped release beds to help with patient flow across the trust.

"The virtual ward programme offers the opportunity to rethink the care of patients with acute needs and creates opportunities in the community to deliver care outside the wards of a hospital.

"This has to be explored in order to meet the demands of modern healthcare and we are proud to be offering this for our patients in an innovative way at Nottingham University Hospitals."

More virtual wards - in addition to the 16 already being run by the trust - are planned to be launched to help hospitals cope with the demands of winter.