Virtual hospital wards coming to adults in Surrey with care needs

Surrey health services are embarking on a project to transform living rooms into hospital wards, as part of a fresh initiative to alleviate hospital admissions.

The ‘virtual hospital wards’ will be achieved by incorporating the expertise of a wide range of professionals, beginning with an assessment from a community matron that is then used as a template to inform specialist nurses, social services, mental health services, GPs and pharmacists as to how living rooms can be transformed to meet the care needs of the individual in question.

With the option to install medical equipment in living rooms, the council hopes to see the virtual wards allow adults with care needs to remain in the comfort of their own homes, while enabling hospitals to save money and focus on emergency admissions that are not as foreseeable.

Nick Skellett, chairman of Surrey County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee, welcomed the initiative, saying: “This is a great example of organisations pulling together to provide better service. It prevents hospital stays, saves public funds and, most importantly, gives people the care they want where they want it.”

Research from think-tank The King’s Fund has estimated that two-thirds of hospital emergency bed days are taken up by unplanned admissions of adults aged over 65; the think-tank also estimates that 2.3m fewer admissions would be needed per year if all areas can restructure their health services to match those performing well in reducing admissions.

The King’s Fund challenges health services and local authorities to pursue local integration strategies that align and co-ordinate primary, community and acute care services, as well as making senior physicians available at admission stage.