‘We’ve cut out the middleman’: How NHS virtual wards mean acute patients are now being treated at home
Elizabeth Simpson is recovering from a nasty bout of pneumonia.
Her oxygen levels dropped so low that she could have been taken to hospital.
That made her feel anxious because at 80 years old she didn’t want to be separated from her family.
She also knew she would be at greater risk of a hospital-acquired infection.
That was a valid concern as the latest NHS data shows COVID infections caught in hospitals are rising.
“If you go into hospital at my age you might catch something else. It’s much more relaxing at your own home because you can go to bed, have a cup of coffee or whatever you want. And the side effect of it all is people having to visit you in hospital – the stress,” Mrs Simpson said.
Luckily for Mrs Simpson she was referred to the virtual wards team at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey.
This unit, one of the first in the country to set up a remote hospital service, is tasked with treating acute patients at home.
This has benefits for the hospital and the patient.
Gemma Cash has seen an improvement in the treatment of patients using virtual wards
Firstly, it stops unnecessary patient admissions and also helps with the discharge of patients who can continue their treatment at home.
This eases pressure on hospital capacity, improving the flow of patients through the system.
Secondly, patient recovery times are known to improve when treated at home.
One of the nurses visiting Mrs Simpson at home is Gemma Cash, an advanced clinical practitioner with Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Mrs Cash says she has seen an improvement in the treatment of patients like Mrs Simpson.
“We didn’t have to wait for her to get into an ambulance to go to A&E, to wait in the queue in A&E to be assessed. From 111 we’ve cut out that middleman and we come straight here and do that assessment directly,” she said.
The virtual ward is run by a team at Frimley Park Hospital
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Virtual wards, remote monitoring and rapid discharge teams are all part of the wider government effort to ease pressure on the NHS.
Trusts that have been able to employ these specialist consultant-led teams report some success with the easing of pressure on acute services.
It is a model that the NHS is likely to pivot towards in the future as more emphasis is placed on preventing patients needing to attend hospital and stay for ongoing treatment.
But the success of this programme is dependent on the recruitment and retention of trained staff.
There is already a shortage of nurses and the workforce crisis extends right across the NHS.
It also does not address the long-term crisis in social care which is driving the pressure on hospitals who are unable to discharge medically-fit patients. This number has grown again to almost 14,000 across England.
This and the recruitment and retention of trained staff is an ongoing problem for doctors like Lucy Abbott, consultant geriatrician and chief of service for community services and older peoples’ medicine, who established Frimley’s virtual ward team.
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Dr Abbott told me: “Clearly workforce is our biggest, biggest challenge, and we need to have highly-skilled professionals looking after people with frailty and as you say, that care, that support from social services as well.”
I asked Dr Abbott if her service could be a substitute for a lack of social care.
“No, no,” she replied. “We have to work together.”
The pressure on the NHS is easing slightly. But it would be a dangerous mistake to think the NHS winter crisis is over.
The workforce shortages, compounded by ongoing industrial action by nurses and ambulance workers and the need to address the serious problems in social care, mean the pressure is likely to continue for some time.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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