North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) is partnering with The Access Group on designing and delivering a digital platform to tackle issues such as bed management, capacity and delayed discharge.

This solution is designed to streamline patient flow, support virtual wards and handle patient discharge from hospital to home, help the trust meet the NHS England Delivery plan for recovering urgent and emergency services and lead the way to join up care across primary and secondary healthcare, social care, and the care sector within the region.

Steve Wightman, healthcare director at Access HSC (Health Support and Care), said: “We are delighted to be working with NELFT to deliver virtual wards across the region. Virtual wards are an exciting opportunity across health and care that sees pressure taken off hospitals by freeing up bed space, and stress taken away from patients by returning them to familiar, comfortable surroundings. With our new platforms, we can support this transition from hospital to home, allowing a greater capacity for care in North East London.”

By digitising the patient flow and discharge process, clinicians will have a real-time view of bed availability and simplified forms to speed up patient referral, transfer and discharge services.

This digitised process is underpinned by a commissioning solution which evaluates care providers at the touch of a button, allowing processes to be streamlined and efficiencies to be made. 

This solution within the hospital is teamed with remote patient support devices within the person’s home, which feedback vital statistics on an individual’s wellbeing, 24/7, directly into their health record; allowing a more proactive approach to care while the individual is still in the comfort of their own home.

Umesh Gadhvi, chief digital information officer at NELFT, commented: “Virtual wards are increasingly being used by the NHS to provide care to patients where they live, whether in a care setting or at home. Our digital front door can help keep people out of hospital, discharge patients early, reduce clinical time and give patients autonomy and choice.

“The trust has developed an ambitious digital strategy which has been designed with our patients, and our virtual wards digital pathway enables patient choice of care. The design allows patients to use digital options to access and receive their healthcare. Virtual wards (also known as hospital at home) is a key digital offering to allow patients to get the care they need at home safely and conveniently, rather than being in hospital, therefore supporting hospital avoidance.”