The NHS has delivered on its ambition to roll out 10,000 virtual ward beds by the end of September, new figures show today.

Of that 1,607 virtual ward beds are in the South East, and more than 61,000 patients have been admitted and treated on a virtual ward across the region since the programme started in March 2022.

Virtual wards allow patients to get hospital-level care at home safely and in familiar surroundings closer to family, friends, and carers, helping speed up their recovery while freeing up hospital beds for patients that need them. Research shows that people who are treated at home recover at the same rate or faster than those treated in hospital.

There are now 80 Virtual Wards across the South East providing high quality care in patient’s homes. As of September 25 2023, the virtual ward beds occupancy was at 87.5% with a target of 80% for the region.

Dr Alison Taylor, Medical Director for System Improvement and Professional Standards and Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the Virtual Wards programme for NHS England South East, said: “Our world leading virtual ward programme is enabling patients across the South East to receive hospital-level care in their own homes and is keeping them out of hospital and able to recover more quickly.

“We now have 80 virtual wards established across the region which use state of the art technology to monitor patients’ conditions with regular check-ins and provide the most effective level of care in their own homes, where they are most comfortable.

“Staff across the region have done a fantastic job standing up virtual wards to provide hospital level care and support for patients to ensure that they avoid unnecessary admission to hospital.”

In a virtual ward, new technologies including wearable devices, smart devices, oxygen and blood pressure monitors provide real-time information through apps about a patient’s vital signs, to a dedicated remote team of healthcare professionals. The technology enables healthcare professionals to monitor patients’ conditions and to direct care and support, either virtually or face to face when needed.

The Virtual Ward at Medway NHS Foundation Trust (run out of Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Kent) has around 60 beds and is facilitated by their Surgical, Medical and Acute Recovery Team (SMART Team).

The nurse-led team is made up of consultants, nursing associates, therapy assistants and physiotherapists, and provides a range of acute nursing, therapy care and remote monitoring that allows patients to continue their recovery at home. The service runs seven days a week, from 8am to 6pm, caring for patients in Medway and Swale who are recovering from a range of conditions and treatments.

During a six-month period, the team at Medway cared for 356 patients, and performed 2,400 ‘visits’ with most done virtually.  A hospital ward stay costs £657 a day, compared to £187 in a virtual ward so more than £100,000 was saved in six months alone.