by More than 8,500 patients in England were being treated on virtual wards in the run-up to Christmas, figures have revealed, as the NHS moves to ease pressure on hospital capacity.
However, experts said the so-called domestic hospitals are not “silver bullets to solve the crisis in health and social care”.
Figures published by NHS Digital showed that almost 8,586 patients were treated in December 2023, up from 7,886 in November.
The picture was taken on December 21st, which means that those patients probably spent Christmas on a virtual ward rather than an actual hospital.
Virtual wards allow patients to receive care in their own homes, with clinical staff using apps or wearable technology to monitor them remotely.
Teams can also prescribe medication, order blood tests and administer intravenous fluids if needed.
They have been recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) to treat those with debilitating, acute respiratory infections and, since October, heart failure.
In July, there were 6,227 patients on virtual wards, and the figure rose to 6,429 in August, 6,807 in September and 7,317 in October.
Occupancy levels were 72.7% for December, up from 70.2% in November and up 8.6% from the 64.1% reported in July.
Earlier this year, NHS England set an ambition to roll out 10,000 virtual beds to ease winter pressure. He achieved the goal in September.
There were approximately 10,421 virtual beds available in September, increasing to 10,737 in October, 11,231 in November and 11,805 in December.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said the “rapid expansion” of virtual ward beds and patients was a real success for the NHS.
He said: “This not only frees up vital hospital beds for those who need them most but ensures that patients can recover where they are most comfortable with the support of families, carers and friends, and although occupancy is growing rapidly as are NHS teams. and the largest amount of bed capacity available, we want to see continued growth across the country so that as many patients as possible can benefit from it.
“Virtual wards are an integral part of our urgent and emergency care recovery plan, along with thousands of other central hospital beds to ensure better capacity and improved waiting times for patients, while using technology most recently as remote monitoring, apps, and medical wearables. devices.”
However, Wendy Preston, head of nursing practice at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said “virtual wards are not a silver bullet to solve the crisis in health and social care”.
“Whether they’re in a physical bed or on a virtual ward, patients still need to be able to see a nurse,” she said.
“But there are over 40,000 nursing vacancies across the NHS, and there is a shortage of staff in social care. When run effectively, virtual wards can relieve pressure, but at every turn nursing staff are fighting an uphill battle to care for too many patients.
“If the UK government wants to turn the state of the NHS around and deliver the ‘hospital level’ care that patients expect, the nursing team needs a proportionate investment in the workforce.”
Miriam Deakin, director of policy and strategy at NHS Providers, said virtual wards are not a “cure-all”.
“Virtual wards can help patients avoid unnecessary hospital stays by providing care at home, when appropriate,” she said.
“In line with national targets, trusts are working extremely hard to provide more ‘hospitals at home’ to ensure patients receive the right care at the right time.
“However, virtual wards are not a panacea. They need support from trained staff and greater investment in the prevention of ill health is central to reducing pressure in the long term.
“Ensuring public and staff buy-in for virtual wards is also vital to achieve the full benefits for patients and the NHS.”
Occupancy levels on virtual wards also varied between integrated care boards (ICBs) in England last month.
Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB had the highest occupancy level, with 93.0% of its 497 beds full, or 462 patients being treated.
The lowest occupancy level was Derby and Derbyshire NHS ICB with 36.3% of its 157 beds.
The latest figures on virtual wards mean that there are 23 virtual beds for every 100,000 over-16s in England registered with a GP.
There is a long-term NHS ambition of achieving between 40 and 50 beds per 100,000 people, which translates into 50,000 admissions per month.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We have made 10,000 fully staffed home hospital places available to patients across the country, allowing people to get the specialist care they need in familiar surroundings on and comfortable.
“This is in addition to the 5,000 extra hospital beds we have created to manage extra winter pressures and £8.1 million to improve discharges.
“There are 50,000 more nurses caring for patients than in 2019 – having met our recruitment target six months early – and our Long Term Workforce Plan will further expand the nursing workforce, with more places training, improved retention and the introduction of new roles. .”
