A virtual ward allowing community-based healthcare professionals to agree goals with patients they look after has helped to improve the quality of life for patients who might otherwise have being admitted to hospital or ended up in long-term care.
Set up by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s integrated care team, the six-month trial brought together a GP, community matron, district nurse team leader, healthcare support worker, community support worker, therapists, pharmacists, and social workers to prevent frail, elderly patients from reaching a crisis point and being unnecessarily admitted to hospital.
During the study, 59 selected patients attending Hackenthorpe Medical Centre and Mosborough Health Centre were given access to a specialist support team who met on a weekly basis to identify ongoing health needs, set goals, and develop plans to improve health and wellbeing.
All the patients taking part in the study had previously been frequently admitted to hospital because of ill health but had no admissions during the trial.
Cathryn Hemingway, integrated care team service manager for Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Frail patients with long-term illnesses have complex needs. By creating a virtual ward where community-based health and social care professionals met to jointly plan to how to meet patients’ needs, we were able to resolve and prevent problems that if left alone would have escalated. For example, one elderly patient who had been frequently prescribed antibiotics to prevent a chest infection was given advice on self care, leaving them less prone to infections increased by drug-resistant germs. Another suffering with weight loss and low mood was able to regain independence by focusing on planning a reunion trip with Army colleagues and was referred to a gut specialist for further investigations.”
The Virtual Ward has been shortlisted in the Integrated Approaches to Care category by the 2014 Nursing Times Awards. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on the 29 October.