Since launching in 2022, the Virtual Ward service at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) has helped care for more than 2,000 patients, saving over 7,000 bed days.

After growing their service, the expert team are now are hoping to take the stage at an awards ceremony after being shortlisted for a prestigious national prize.

The team have been shortlisted in the Technology and Data in Nursing category at the 2025 Nursing Times Awards for their work in improving patient flow in our hospitals, helping to manage rising attendances with nurse-led virtual care directly to patients’ homes.

In the virtual ward, which works in partnership with Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT), healthcare professionals use technology, such as an iPad, to talk to people virtually – using the Luscii app – speaking ‘face to face’ with people or their carers in their homes about their condition, and providing clinical advice and implementing next steps. A person’s symptoms and condition are monitored in real-time using wearable and/or medical devices, with KCHFT also providing home-based services such as Hospital at Home.

Starting as a respiratory ward, the service has rapidly expanded to cover 11 specialties including general medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, haematology, and frailty.

Operating 24/7 from a hub at Maidstone Hospital, the team provides twice-daily clinical reviews, virtual assessments, and home-based treatments such as IV antibiotics, phlebotomy (blood tests) and wound care.

As well as helping to manage bed capacity, the service has also received fantastic reviews, seeing 94% of patient satisfaction scores rating the service as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, with patients commenting how the flexible model of care enables them to safely continue with their routines at home with their family and attend events with friends.

What sets MTW’s virtual ward programme apart from others, is its use of digital technology to capture real-time patient data accessible to all clinicians involved.

This allows continuous monitoring and early interventions, preventing deterioration and avoiding hospital stays – particularly benefiting frail elderly patients who recover faster in the comfort of their own home and familiar surroundings.

Following the success of the programme, MTW’s teams have been contacted by other trusts seeking guidance on establishing the same approach at their hospitals.

The team are now looking ahead to the ceremony in London on 22 October.