Improvements have continued since the April inspection, including:
- more ED nurses and doctors recruited
- improved procedures to ensure patients receive specialist assessments, tests and treatments sooner, and
- additional senior checks to ensure risk assessments are completed, and medications given in a timely manner.
To help reduce delays, the hospital has recently expanded its virtual ward service from 80 to 120 beds, and made them available 24/7, so that more people who would otherwise be in hospital can be safely cared for in the comfort of their own home.
This is the first step in an exciting journey from a well-established virtual ward to a fully-fledged 200-bed virtual hospital.
Enabled by technology, patients’ vital signs (such as pulse, blood pressure and oxygen levels) are remotely monitored, and treatments given (such as intravenous antibiotics, and breathing support), with close oversight, and regular contact, from the hospital’s Surgical, Medical and Acute Recovery Team (SMART).
Should a patient’s condition deteriorate, the team can quickly undertake further assessment on screen. At any time of day or night, a member of the team can visit the patient at home, and if needed, bring them into hospital for further tests or treatment.
Jonathan Wade added: “Expanding our virtual ward is already helping people leave hospital sooner, and means that some do not need to come into hospital at all, with care provided at home instead.
“This is already helping to relieve pressure on our Emergency Department, by freeing up ward beds for those who need them most, and reducing delays and overcrowding in the department.
“This is a great example of how we are making more care available locally for our patients, supported by technology, and helping to deliver the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England.”
