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More than 100,000 patients have been treated in NHS virtual wards in the last year, according to recent figures from NHS England.

Virtual wards allow patients to get hospital-level care at home safely and in familiar surroundings, helping speed up their recovery while freeing up hospital beds for patients that need them most.

There are now more than 340 virtual ward programmes across England, including a total of 7,653 virtual beds.

These ‘Hospital at Home’ models help reduce avoidable admissions by providing the hospital-level care at home.

People on a virtual ward are cared for by a multi-skilled team who can provide a range of tests and treatments.

Patients are reviewed daily by the clinical team and the ‘ward round’ may involve a home visit or take place through video technology. Many virtual wards use technology like apps, wearables, and other medical devices enabling clinical staff to easily check in and monitor their recovery.

These innovative virtual wards were a key part of the NHS urgent and emergency care recovery plan, launched at the end of January, with a goal of treating up to 50,000 patients a month.

The plan also outlined a series of other measures aimed at reducing pressure on the NHS and bringing down waiting times, including an expansion of community falls and frailty services, urgent community response teams, as well as creating more physical beds in hospital.

NHS National Medical Director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “The advantages of virtual wards for both staff and patients have been a real game-changer for the way hospital care is delivered and so it is a huge achievement that more than 100,000 patients have been able to benefit in the last year alone, with the number of beds up by nearly two thirds in less than a year.

“With up to a fifth of emergency hospital admissions estimated to be avoided through better supporting vulnerable patients at home and in the community, these world leading programmes are making a real difference not just to the people they directly benefit but also in reducing pressure on wider services.”

The Telehealth Team, run by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, supports around 2,000 patients a day with conditions like COPD, diabetes and heart failure.

Nurse Nisha Jose, Clinical Team Leader at Mersey Care’s Clinical Telehealth Hub, commented: “People yearn for normality and the comfort of home, yet when they get home, they may become worried.

“With our virtual ward programme, we can do everything that would happen on a hospital ward. We take observations every six hours to identify any issues and we can even carry out ECGs at the patient’s home. It has truly transformed the way we deliver care.”

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