Virtual ward beds set to double
PA MediaAT A GLANCE
At a glance:- The number of virtual ward beds is set to double across Shropshire as part of a scheme to reduce the number of hospital patients
- More than 100 patients are currently cared for at home as part of a virtual ward which could rise to 249 by December
- Patients are reviewed daily by a clinical team and the "ward round" can involve a home visit or take place online
The number of virtual ward beds is set to double across Shropshire as part of a scheme to reduce the number of hospital patients.
There are more than 100 patients across the county who currently receive care through home visits or via an online "ward round".
Patients can have blood tests, be prescribed medication or be administered fluids through an intravenous drip, keeping hospital beds freed up.
The number of beds is to increase, as Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust is required to have 249 virtual ward beds by December 2023, chief executive Patricia Davies said.
Speaking at a board meeting, Mrs Davies said the wards were a joint initiative with the acute trust, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
She added there were some positive examples of getting patients home earlier, while allowing their treatment to continue.
A similar project for children at Russells Hall Hospital had seen 100 leave hospital early, the Dudley Group Foundation Trust said last September.
Parents were taught to take regular observations which were automatically downloaded at hospital, with the trust describing the scheme was "ground-breaking".
Speaking about the Shropshire scheme, Ms Davies said some of the patients had "stepped up" from community care, while others had "stepped down" from hospital care.
The trust was now looking at "industrialising the process of the virtual ward" even further across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin," she said.
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