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A virtual acute ward monitoring patients who otherwise would need admitting to hospital.
- Address: Providing care virtually from a 24/7 hub at Hermitage Court in Maidstone,
What we do
The Virtual Ward is an acute ward monitoring patients who otherwise would need to be admitted to hospital.
Our service runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you are a virtual ward patient we will video call you twice a day and ask you to patients recording your observations on a free app called LUSCII.
This can be downloaded from the app store on your smart device.
All patients cared for on our virtual wards are loaned a ‘hospital in a box’ containing medical equipment which allows us to monitor our patients.
You will be added to the appropriate pathway depending on your health condition.
Each pathway has a designated consultant.
Our pathways include:
- General medical
- Acute respiratory infection
- COPD
- Covid
- Flu
- Haematology
- Orthopaedics
- General surgical
- Gastroenterology
- Frailty
By being in your own home, you will be supported to be as independent as possible.
Frequently asked questions
How does the virtual ward work?
Patients are supported by our team of nurses in our hub (open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) where they monitor and support you in your own home for as long as necessary. They support the prevention of avoidable hospital admissions, early detection of issues and prompt reviews.
What if I need treatments?
If you need treatments, we will arrange for our community team Urgent Care Virtual Ward (UCVW) to visit you in your own home.
They provide blood tests, IV therapies and wound care for virtual ward patients with a west Kent GP.
What if my GP isn’t in west Kent?
If your GP is outside west Kent, if you come to one of our hospitals we can arrange for you to visit our Phlebotomy team for blood tests.
Who is referred to the frailty virtual ward?
The frailty virtual ward is supported by the Home Treatment Service (HTS) provided by Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, and takes referrals from health professionals including GPs and acute trusts. To be eligible for HTS, patients must be registered with a west Kent GP.
The service provides urgent care at home and in nursing/care homes, with the aim of avoiding a hospital admission, and focuses on people aged over 65 with frailty.
HTS also sees those over 18 with chronic medical conditions.
This is often requested for people with long term conditions or frailty, and for whom a hospital admission is not in line with their treatment goals.
What’s the difference between remote episodic short-term care and long-term condition?
Remote episodic short-term care is for a health-related issue needing monitoring to support you through the episode. For example, this could be a temporary catheter following a surgical procedure or wound care.
Long-term condition monitoring is used to monitor diseases or conditions for which there is currently no cure, and which are managed with medications and other treatments, such as COPD or diabetes.