Recorded 1 February 2024 12:00 noon – 13:30 pm
About this webinar:
This webinar is part of the integrated care webinar series, and was run by the System Transformation team at NHS England and hosted by SCIE.
It explores how virtual wards allow patients who otherwise would be in hospital to receive acute care, monitoring and treatment at home. This can have benefits for individual patients and their outcomes, as well as for the flow of patients through the wider health and care system by helping to prevent avoidable admissions and support safe and timely discharges.
Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and system leaders are key to designing, implementing and scaling virtual wards across their places to meet population needs and facilitating collaborative working across and beyond traditional boundaries.
Speakers:
- James Benson (Chief Executive of Central London Community Healthcare Trust (CLCH) and UEC Appointed Special Advisor to Virtual Wards)
- Steph Wedmore, Clinical Service Manager – Virtual Wards, Rapid Response & SPR, Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust
- Darin Halifax, Lead for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise, Integrated Care System for Devon
- Steph Somerville, Director, Community Transformation and Virtual Wards Community Health Services, NHS England (chair)
Covered in this session:
- an overview of virtual wards and the benefits for patients and systems, highlighting the importance of integrating virtual wards as part of a wider pathway of care
- the role ICSs have in building capacity to develop virtual wards and support integration across providers
- how ICSs can work with voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations and carers to develop virtual wards, and support patients and carers on a virtual ward
- how ICSs can work with care homes to prevent avoidable admissions and support people in care homes