NHS to expand virtual wards to keep vulnerable out of hospital
The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) recently announced that elderly and vulnerable people are to receive tailored support at home each money as part of a new NHSE plan to curb unnecessary trips to hospitals, help at-risk patients receive faster treatment, and improve ambulance response times.
The two-year delivery plan for recovery comes amid record demand for NHS services, with the latest data showing more A&E attendances than ever before, growing numbers of the most serious ambulance call outs, and millions of NHS 111 calls a month over winter.
Urgent care provided in the community will be expanded to ensure people can get the care they need at home, without the need for a hospital admission.
This includes an increase in '‘virtual wards’, where patients receive high-tech care in their own homes. There are already 7,000 virtual ward beds already in the community and up to 50,000 patients a month are expected to benefit by the end of 2023/24.
On Wednesday, 1 March 2023, as part of the week-long Housing LIN Summit - A Festival of Ideas, we're joined by Bola Akinwale, Deputy Director for the National Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England who will consider how technology solutions and better integrated services can improve people's outcomes, reducing the need for crisis support, hospital admission, care home placements accident and emergency attendance. Find out more and secure your place!