What is the Frailty Hospital at Home (Virtual Ward)? A virtual ward, also known as hospital at home, is a safe and efficient alternative to a hospital bed. It supports patients who would otherwise be in hospital to receive the acute care, monitoring and treatment they need in their own home.
Once accepted to the care of the frailty hospital at home team, you will be seen by a Community Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) in your own home within 24 hours. A care plan will be agreed and tailored to your needs. You will be reviewed daily by the team. Your condition will be assessed and monitored, and any necessary care or treatments will take place. Some of your care might require visits to the hospital e.g. for tests including X rays.
The team includes, but is not limited to:
Hospital and community-based Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs)
Consultant
General Practitioner
Pharmacy
Occupational Therapists
Physiotherapists
Social Workers
Health Care Assistants
The team will work together , including with our existing Community Services to provide you with the best possible care. We will discuss referring you to other services such as Therapy, Social Care and Voluntary Services when we think this will be helpful to you.
The service is short term as it replaces the care you might have needed to be in hospital for, so we expect the Hospital at Home service to last for up to 14 days. This will depend on your needs and recovery. This service does not provide routine care for long term health conditions.
Should you need to come into hospital or are in hospital please speak to a member of staff on the ward or your GP to consider whether the Frailty hospital at home is suitable for you.
During your stay on the Frailty Hospital at Home (Virtual Ward), you may be offered the option to take your daily readings at home using a tablet or smartphone, and simple health devices such as a blood pressure monitor, which will be provided for you.
Your readings will be sent through and reviewed by the Frailty Hospital at Home (Virtual Ward) team.
If you decide to use the Remote Clinical Monitoring Service, you will be supported to set up and use the devices, however you may also find these video tutorials useful.
How to use:
.png)