Virtual hospitals in our local communities are operating in a similar to a physical hospital; with an Emergency Department (Urgent Community Response Teams (UCRT), and wards (the Frailty Virtual Ward and Respiratory Virtual Ward), into which a patient can be transferred. It is a model of care for people aged 18 and over presenting with urgent and complex health and care needs to be supported, monitored and treated in their own homes.
Virtual wards allow safe and optimal care to be provided closer to home, allowing a patient to remain in familiar surroundings, improving their experience of care. Through avoiding admissions to a physical hospital, it not only alleviates the system bed pressures but reduces the risk of infections at a time of high transfer rates.
Local urgent community response teams are helping to support more than a 1,000 people a month to receive urgent care in their homes rather than be admitted to hospital, avoiding ambulance calls.
Patient feedback continues to be incredibly positive. Find out more about how a local resident benefitted from the Urgent Community Response Team: Jason’s Story.