Northamptonshire Health Charity funds ‘Virtual Wards Patient Feedback’ coffee morning

Recently, Northampton General Hospital has embraced ‘Virtual Wards’ as a transformative approach to healthcare delivery.

The initiative allows patients to receive healthcare monitoring from the comfort of their own home and supports patients to self-managing their condition while reducing hospital admissions and enabling early discharge.

Meeting virtual ward patients allowed NGH staff to listen to feedback and implement changes and improvements. The passing public were also intrigued to learn more about virtual wards on the day.

Christina Prada, Virtual Ward Service Lead at NGH said “In the past, remote monitoring has been successful in monitoring patients with various chronic conditions but since the pandemic, we have learned that we can effectively monitor acutely unwell patients as well. This benefits the workforce and patients as it means we reduce the risk of infection and means are putting less strain on hospital staff and infrastructure”.

“if I can be monitored at home…that’s a bonus! Virtual wards give you freedom to carry on with your life and best of all, I didn’t need to spend money on parking or petrol at the hospital, and it fit around my work much better!” Said one patient.

The hospital has extended its remotely monitored virtual ward concept to accommodate various respiratory conditions and a recent pilot study found that patients following colorectal surgery can be safely discharged a few days early when supported by remote monitoring, saving valuable inpatient bad days.

A new Acute Medicine virtual ward allows patients who are well enough, to wait for important diagnostic tests from the comfort of their home, whilst remaining under the care of their consultant.

In April, 109 NGH patients were admitted to various virtual wards, saving 1,042 inpatient bed days. The positive outcomes have spurred interest among clinicians across the county fostering collaboration to explore broader applications of remote patient monitoring beyond respiratory conditions, potentially revolutionising healthcare delivery beyond the pandemic.

About Northamptonshire Health Charity

The Northamptonshire Health Charity's mission is to enhance patient care and support staff of through funding equipment, research, improving patient experiences and additional services beyond NHS provisions.

If you have any ideas for how the charity can help your department and improve patient care get in touch!

Our policy is to fund equipment, items, facilities, projects, and programmes that are ‘over and above’ the core service provided by the Trusts. This is in line with the charity’s objects, and the expectations of supporters.

Visit our website for more details or get in touch [email protected] if you have any other questions.

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