Solent set to pilot virtual wards for Portsmouth and Southampton patients
Solent NHS Trust is proudly embarking on trialling digital technology for patients across Portsmouth and Southampton with frailty needs, delivering high quality, personalised care at home and helping reduce hospital admissions.
The six-month pilot is set to start in January 2023 and sees Solent collaborate with digital partner for virtual wards, Doccla, who will provide various healthcare remote monitoring devices such as blood pressure monitors and pulse oximeters, tailored to each patient’s clinical requirements.
The pilot will focus on people aged 18 and over with suspected or known frailty, who are admitted on to the programme once they have been assessed by the Trust’s urgent response teams.
Throughout the virtual ward, Doccla will deliver key functions, including providing software through a mobile app, clinical dashboard and devices (tablets and medical) corresponding to the pilot participants. Each patient will be closely monitored by Solent and Doccla clinicians, receiving daily review, and having their treatment adjusted where needed - all from the comfort of their own home environment.
Chief Medical Officer at Solent NHS Trust, Dan Baylis, said: “We are really excited to be piloting this type of virtual wards in Portsmouth and Southampton with the digital expertise of Doccla.
“Virtual wards, running across the country, provide a suitable and safe alternative to hospital care. The use of technology is largely untapped to date in terms of this patient group, so we welcome the learnings and findings that this pilot will bring to help develop and enhance our care for those in our communities, helping them to keep out of hospital wherever possible.”
Doccla Chief Medical Officer, Dr Greg Edwards, said: “Doccla is proud to commence this pilot with Solent NHS Trust and we look forward to delivering virtual ward technology to Portsmouth and Southampton residents. Virtual wards support people to remain out of hospital and deliver immense benefits to the health service.”
Should this pilot be successful, it is hoped to roll the offer out wider to more Portsmouth and Southampton patients in the next year.