Understanding how safe, effective and cost-effective virtual wards are for people with COPD.
As the NHS expands the use of virtual wards to care for people at home, it’s vital to understand which patients benefit most, and whether these models are safe, effective, and deliver value. This project focuses on people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a condition that often leads to repeated hospital visits. By reviewing the evidence and analysing real-world NHS data, this study is helping to evaluate how virtual wards are working in practice and how they can be improved. The team is also listening to patients to understand their experiences of care delivered at home.
What is the problem
NHS England has developed several new models of care to try to reduce hospital admissions. One model is the Virtual Ward VW. In a Virtual Ward people receive hospital led care following an acute admission to hospital but the care is provided in their own home using virtual monitoring equipment. Although Virtual Wards may appear attractive and helpful we don’t know if they are safe.
What we will do
This project aims to assess whether Virtual Wards are safe, effective and cost effective for treating patients with COPD. This project has 4 stages:
1. We will review the scientific evidence already available about Virtual Wards including whether they are safe and effective
2. We will evaluate how patients are selected for virtual wards We will see if there is various in how patients are selected in different regions of the UK
3. We will analyse data from the West Midlands to see which patients with COPD that were eligible for treatment on a Virtual Ward went on a Virtual Ward We will then assess the clinical outcomes for patients with COPD that were treated on a Virtual Ward and patients that were treated in hospital
4. We will interview patients that have been on a Virtual Ward to gain insights about their experiences of the services
By evaluating Virtual Wards across multiple sites over an extended period this project will help us understand how effective Virtual Wards are in treating patients with COPD It will also provide insights into how much resource is needed for Virtual Wards and the impact on patient outcomes Working in partnership with patients and healthcare professionals will help us further improve Virtual Wards to make them as effective as possible