Virtual wards were widely introduced in March of 2020, when they were used to prevent hospital admissions, assist with early discharge, and ease pressure on NHS staff during the COVID-19 Pandemic. However, PHL have been operating virtual wards earlier than this, which gave them the ability to rapidly deploy a COVID virtual ward, ‘COVID at Home’.
With the assistance of Virtual wards, patients can safely get the care they need, from the comfort of their own homes. Patients have access to clinical teams who are available 24/7 and can provide the care needed to patients. Patient monitoring systems are used to manage and clinically supervise patients. The clinical team are provided with regular medical observations including patient’s temperature, oxygen levels and heart rate.
Virtual wards are here to stay with NHS England allocating funding of up to £200m in 2022-23 and £250m in 2023-24 to support the implementation of virtual wards. Virtual wards have been deemed a key priority in a bid to expand care options and tackle the current pressures on the NHS. With the support of a virtual ward, bed capacity for patients can be increased and community care expanded. You can read more about the use of virtual wards within the NHS here.
The rapid rollout of virtual wards includes supporting people within their homes and care homes. In a virtual ward, patients are assisted by technology platforms, wearables, and medical devices like pulse oximeters. Support may also involve face-to-face care and treatment plans which vary from patient to patient. PHL’s virtual ward services can be adapted for many uses, in addition to COVID monitoring such as pre/post operation hospital stays, chronic condition monitoring (e.g. diabetes and COPD), and more. Another benefit of using a virtual ward is that patients generally recover faster in their own homes, are less distressed and can always be readmitted to a hospital if needed.
PHL is uniquely positioned to deliver a virtual ward service that was assessed as “Outstanding” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2021. With an extensive track record of delivering high-quality services for the NHS, PHL provides round-the-clock call centres, dashboard monitoring, and routine human-patient interactions. Alongside the practical elements, PHL provides strong clinical governance and direct NHS integration.
PHL provides a full-service offering, supporting the seamless and efficient setup of a virtual ward. For more information, or to register your interest in PHL’s virtual ward service, please click here.
