Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of treating more patients in (a) virtual wards and (b) hospitals at home.
The National Health Service is increasingly introducing virtual wards. There are 115 tech enabled virtual wards live covering 35 of 42 ICS, at Nov 2022. Support can include remote monitoring using apps, technology platforms, wearables and medical devices such as pulse oximeters.
Virtual wards help patients receive treatment and have their conditions monitored at home, improving their experience of care and freeing up vital beds in hospitals.