New HSE Virtual Wards to deliver hospital care at home

Virtual Wards, a new digital initiative, was announced today for cardiology and respiratory patients of St Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH) and University Hospital Limerick (UHL). It offers a safe and efficient alternative to hospital stays, supporting patients who prefer to receive expert hospital care, monitoring and treatment in their own home. The service will be introduced in the two hospitals later this month.

Professor Richard Greene, Chief Clinical Information Officer, HSE said, “Virtual wards are a new health innovation that has emerged internationally, which supports the remote care of patients who would otherwise be in a hospital bed. In the initial stages, the service may be offered to suitable patients who are admitted to hospital with a respiratory or cardiac condition and are medically stable but require ongoing monitoring and care.

“Central to the national Virtual Wards programme is the empowerment of patients to be active partners in managing their health and wellbeing. Patients remain under the care of the consultant-led team that provided their care in the hospital and will have a dedicated team monitoring their care 24/7, while they are in the comfort of their own home.”

Maureen Gilbert, patient representative on the Virtual Ward Steering Group, explained: “Virtual Wards offer great potential for patients and their empowerment. It’s a really positive development for patients to be able to receive hospital-level care in the comfort of their own home. Virtual Wards can support enhanced recovery, and there’s more quality one-to-one communication between patients and their care team. Research shows that patients who recover at home experience less of the stress and anxiety that can sometimes be associated with a hospital stay. There are lots of other benefits too: lower risk of hospital-acquired infection and loss of muscle strength. People who join Virtual Wards can be more active partners in their own healthcare and they are less likely to need another inpatient hospital stay in the near future.”

Deirdre McNamara, Director of Strategic Programmes, HSE, added: “Virtual Wards herald a new and exciting phase of the digital transformation of our health service. They support the delivery of care in the right place, at the right time. The service will start this month and will be scaled up, supporting increased in-hospital bed capacity, which will reduce pressure on the health system over time.”

Preceding the launch of the Virtual Wards is the recent publication of the Department of Health Digital for Care: A Digital Health Framework which will be followed by the HSE Digital Health Roadmap, once approved in the coming weeks. These documents set out plans and commitments to fostering innovations such as Virtual Wards and other digital healthcare priorities into the future which will ultimately pave the way to a safer and more efficient health service.

The national Virtual Wards programme is a collaborative initiative bringing together stakeholders from across the health service including eHealth Ireland, the National Clinical Programme Respiratory, the National Heart Programme, St Vincent’s University Hospital and University Hospital Limerick.

More information is available on the HSE website.