Government to unveil ‘virtual’ hospital wards plan

As reported by The Independent, around 50,000 people a month could receive support at home

Rishi Sunak’s government is set to announce plans to treat more than half a million patients a year in ‘virtual’ hospital wards as part of a plan to reform urgent and emergency care.

The Department of Health and Social Care said about 50,000 elderly and vulnerable people could receive tailored support at home each month, as part of a strategy to shift some NHS care out of hard-pressed hospitals.

Around 3,000 virtual beds are due to be created before next winter.

The plan comes amid a slew of reports that hospitals are struggling to cope because of severe pressure on staff, with walkouts by nurses set to continue as a dispute over pay and conditions rumbles on.

The latest data shows that ambulance handover delays outside hospitals in England have dropped to their lowest level so far this winter, but one in five patients are still waiting at least half an hour to be transferred to A&E teams.

Health secretary Steve Barclay claimed that up to 20% of hospital admissions are avoidable with the right care in place, and said that the plan would help “ease pressure” on stretched A&E services.

The government said that the plan builds on the virtual wards already in place in the NHS, which see patients treated from home while being monitored by medics either through daily visits or video calls.

The plan will see the use of urgent community response teams scaled up, with hopes that it will increase the number of patients seen by healthcare staff within two hours.

The government pointed to the £14.1bn available for health and care services over the next two years, as announced in the autumn statement.