A BLUEPRINT for providing life-saving treatment at home developed in the North West is now being rolled out across the country.

The success of the North West’s first heart failure virtual ward, will lead to thousands more people across England who have heart failure, being treated at home as the NHS expands its world-leading virtual wards scheme.

New NHS clinical guidance published this week asks more local health systems to expand their use of virtual wards to include heart failure patients, who often spend a lot of time in hospital.

Around 200,000 people a year are diagnosed with heart failure, and people living with the long-term condition require significant input from NHS services. Around 5% of all emergency hospital admissions in the UK attributed to the condition.

The Liverpool heart failure virtual ward is jointly run by Liverpool University Hospitals NHS FT and Mersey Care NHS FT, who provide the telehealth service, and was one of the first two of its kind in England. The collaborative way of working has meant that more than 500 people have been treated in the comfort of their own homes, since it was launched in May 2022.

Virtual wards, also known as hospital at home, offer the NHS an opportunity to care for suitable people in the familiar environment of their own home, including care homes, as an alternative to being in hospital. Increasingly, virtual ward teams are supporting people who would have been admitted into hospital with heart failure.

Dr Rajiv Sankaranarayanan, Consultant Cardiologist and Heart Failure Virtual Ward Lead in Cheshire and Merseyside ICB said: “Our experience of treating suitable patients with heart failure decompensation at home instead of in hospital and allowing them to be treated by our heart failure specialist teams in the community with the aid of telehealth technology, has shown that it helps with their recovery and improves their outcomes”.

One of the first patients to the heart failure virtual ward was Colette Melia, 66, who said: “It’s almost like having a doctor on tap.”

Colette, who has Crohn’s disease, had fluid overload due to damage to her heart muscle. The heart failure virtual ward team treated her with outpatient intravenous diuretics, which relieved her fluid overload, and gave her medication to make her heart pump stronger, all whilst being managed on the acute heart failure virtual ward.

Mersey Care’s telehealth team reviewed Colette every day and the ‘ward round’ with a multi-disciplinary team took place over telephone or video call. Tech devices provided a daily ECG, measured her vitals like blood pressure, blood oxygen levels and pulse, and she could record symptoms and observations, with readings sent to the team.

She said: “Knowing that you’re being constantly monitored is such a confidence booster.”

The expansion of heart failure virtual wards comes after the NHS announced it had hit the target of delivering 10,000 virtual ward beds last month, with more than 240,000 patients treated successfully on virtual wards since April 2022.

In the North West, there are currently more than 1300 virtual ward beds, ready for treating patients in the place they call home this winter. To date, more than 23000 patients have been admitted successfully to virtual wards across our region, for a ranges of conditions including acute respiratory infections and frailty.

Dr Michael Gregory, Medical Director for NHS England – North West said: “For many people, being treated in their own homes, with the support of their family and friends is the best way to recover from an illness.

“The expansion of virtual wards, or hospital at home, means people can remain active and maintain their independence in their own home, while undergoing medical treatment, and in some cases can ease the pressure on our hospitals.

“It’s so encouraging that the NHS is expanding this innovative service to provide treatment for more conditions, just as we head into the winter months.”

Virtual wards allow patients to get safe hospital-level care in the comfort of their own home, close to their friends and family.

Patients are monitored around the clock by highly skilled clinical staff through home or virtual visits, and staff can use technology like apps, wearables, and other medical devices, to continually monitor patients’ vital signs.

The team can also provide blood tests, prescribe medication, and administer fluids via an intravenous drip. The scheme not only speeds up recovery times but frees hospital beds for those who need inpatient care.