More patients using 'virtual wards' to receive care from Wigan's hospitals

More than 180 patients with respiratory infections or heart failure have now been treated on “virtual wards” run by Wigan’s hospital trust.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

They were launched during the coronavirus pandemic so people could stay at home but be monitored by medics, rather than having to be admitted to hospital.

And with the under-pressure NHS gearing up for a busy winter, more patients are set to be treated in virtual wards, helping health chiefs to manage illnesses such as Covid-19 and pneumonia and free up hospital beds.

Read More
World Mental Health Day 2022: Everything you need to know and where to get help ...
Karen Downs, Divisional Lead in Digital Care for WWL.Karen Downs, Divisional Lead in Digital Care for WWL.
Karen Downs, Divisional Lead in Digital Care for WWL.
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In February 2022, the virtual ward team at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust supported 20 people with acute respiratory infections (ARI).

This has since risen to 137 patients being treated by the ARI virtual ward team, saving 1,256 acute bed days between February and September 2022.

In addition, the virtual heart failure pathway has provided 49 patients with early supported acute heart failure care in the home, saving 376 acute inpatient bed days.

Related topics: