Re-introducing Hospital at Home (Virtual Wards) This Winter
As a key component of our Winter Plan, we are reintroducing the concept of Hospital at Home (virtual wards) to patients and the public. Our goal is to help people understand:
- What “Hospital at Home (virtual wards)” and “remote monitoring” mean.
- How they operate in practice.
- The benefits they provide to patients and how they support the local NHS.
These initiatives aim to enhance care accessibility, minimise hospital stays, and ensure patients receive timely and effective treatment in the comfort of their homes.
Many will recall Hospitals at Home (virtual wards) being established at pace in response to COVID-19, as an example, to help people living with frailty avoid going to hospital. In similar guises, other Hospital at Home services have been operational around the UK for several years before that.
This winter you or a loved one may be offered to be cared for on a Frimley Health and Care hospital at home (virtual ward). These may have different levels of face-to-face contact and offer different types of care and rehabilitation, with some being fully remote.
Some might make use of monitoring devices, such as oxygen and blood pressure monitors, apps, telephone calls or video calls via iPads, to help provide real-time information on a patient’s vital signs to a dedicated team of health and care professionals.
Research has shown that being at home is better for most people’s physical health, mental wellbeing and overall recovery rate than being in a hospital bed. We also know that when patients maintain their independence and ability to remain in their own home, they are much less likely to need to be re-admitted to hospital.
For more information including a short film, Frequently Asked Questions and local case studies on how remote monitoring and the hospital at home (virtual wards) are supporting people in Frimley, visit our webpage: https://fhac-archive.frimley.icb.nhs.uk/your-health/hospital-at-home-virtual-wards/