Virtual Ward (Hospital at Home)

Virtual Ward contact number and working hours: 8am to 8pm, seven days a week

In an emergency please dial 999.

This service for adults only, predominantly those with frailty and respiratory conditions .

What is a virtual ward?

Also known as Hospital at Home, the Virtual Ward enables you to be treated safely at home when you may otherwise have had to be in hospital.

The Virtual Ward is a consultant led team of community-based clinicians and is able to offer a mixture of face-to-face visits and technology to assess and monitor your condition. Monitoring your condition means that if you become unwell this will be picked up early and action taken to support your recovery, this may include a visit to hospital and sometimes an admission.

If your assessment requires you to have remote monitoring, an observation kit and smartphone will be delivered to you. This, with some training, will enable you to take your own observations which are then uploaded and reviewed by a nurse. If anything is out of your pre-determined range then you will receive a phone call or have a face-to-face assessment.

You will be given written information about your individualised treatment plan, any monitoring requirements, when to expect visits from the Virtual Ward team and what to do if your condition changes.

You can contact the Virtual Ward team if you feel your condition has worsened. After 8pm please only contact the team if your query cannot wait until 8am the next day. In an emergency contact 999.

What should I do if I feel unwell?

Ring your virtual ward team or 111 as soon as possible if:

• you’re feeling gradually more unwell or more breathless
• you have difficulty breathing when you stand up or move around
• you feel very weak, achy, or tired
• you’re shaking or shivering
• you’ve lost your appetite
• you sense that something is wrong
• you’re unable to care for yourself – for example, tasks like washing and dressing or making food are too difficult

Go to A&E immediately or call 999 if:

• you’re so breathless that you’re unable to say short sentences when resting
• your breathing has suddenly got worse
• you cough up blood
• you feel cold and sweaty with pale or blotchy skin
• you develop a rash that looks like small bruises or bleeding under the skin and does not fade when you roll a glass over it
• you collapse or faint
• you feel agitated, confused, or very drowsy
• you’ve stopped peeing or are peeing much less than usual

Good signs and readings that show you may be improving:

• gradual improvement
• fully mobile, able to manage stairs (if this is normal for you), not confused
• normal eating and drinking
• observation readings are within normal ranges for you (as agreed with your nurse/doctor)

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