NHS patients are prescribed smartphones and trained to be tech savvy –

Patients are prescribed smartphones for free hospital beds and given NHS technology training.

NHS England has set a goal of creating 25,000 more ‘beds’ by 2024 by expanding the use of ‘virtual wards’ to treat more people at home.

Services are designed for patients who need treatment but do not require hospitalization.

It includes monitoring patients remotely using mobile apps and devices capable of monitoring oxygen and blood pressure.

NHS leaders said patients in some pilot projects received cell phones and lectures to help them stay tech savvy. For people without Wi-Fi access, the trusts provide them with devices that can access 4G.

Dr. Sarah Sibley, who runs the virtual wards in Merseyside, said one “hurdle” is that many vulnerable people, especially the elderly, do not have access to the right technology.

“And we work in areas where there is a lot of social deprivation, where people don’t have access to technological devices or data to upload information.”

Tara Donnelly, director of digital care models at NHS England, said other trusts have made deals with companies like Vodafone to lend phones and tablets to patients.

Virtual wards have been around for years, but they have gained importance during the pandemic, where patients are monitored remotely to maintain their capacity and prevent hospital outbreaks.

An injection of a £160m SSN in 2021 was used to fund several non-Covid studies in virtual wards to free up more beds to clear the selective care backlog.

Around 5,000 patients are currently treated in more than 50 virtual NHS wards across England.

Patients in the wards are followed by counselors or primary care physicians through daily phone calls or chat on mobile apps.

In some cases, patients will be provided with a wearable device to continuously monitor and report their vital signs.

Dr. “From a technological standpoint, things went very well during Covid,” said Sibley, a respiratory consultant at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital.

But the technology was “hard” to implement for traditional ailments, often by the elderly or the frail.

“So we had to come up with a number of options, including using apps on a device if available.

“If they didn’t have a device at the time, we could have given them a smartphone they could use while they were in the virtual ward.

“And we have a choice of phones… and devices that are easier to use and have fewer features.

“But one of the things we found is that some people just don’t know how to use technology.” He said that these patients also received technical training.

Dr. Sibley spoke to healthcare leaders during a presentation at the annual NHS conference, held in Liverpool today, entitled “Delivering Virtual Wards: Top Tips for Success.”

The NHS has set a national target of ‘virtual’ treatment of 40 to 50 patients per 100,000 population by 2024; this equates to around 25,000 across the UK.

An additional amount of up to £450m will be available to support the establishment of departments, according to NHS England’s operational planning guidelines.

It is currently used for people with respiratory infections, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and frailty.

When people leave the hospital to go home, they can be added to the virtual ward list or “accepted” by the community.

Ms. Donnelly supported the virtual wards, saying, “If you are very sick, there is no better place than the hospital.

“But when this urgent and acute need is met, the house has enormous advantages.

“You can sleep and rest more comfortably, move effectively, eat the foods you want to eat, having your support network and loved ones around will help you heal and greatly boost your morale.”

There are those within the NHS who like to call them “home hospitals” out of concern that “virtual” ward has a negative connotation.

Elliot Howard-Jones, head of the Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, which operates virtual services for heart and lung patients, said he prefers the term ‘home hospital’.

He said the word virtual reduces the “absolute advantage” of departments and likens it to offering a “virtual tenant or real tenant.”

He comes in the middle of an ongoing feud over virtual GP appointments.