Integrated Virtual Ward

The Integrated Virtual Ward is a service jointly provided by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Foundation Trust and Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust. It allows patients discharged from a hospital bed at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to continue to receive hospital monitoring and treatment at home, meaning that patients who meet the criteria for the service can be safely discharged from hospital sooner, while continuing to receive the support they need.

NCH&C also offers a Community Virtual Ward ‘step up’ service, which aims to prevent avoidable admissions to hospital. Click here for information about this service. 

There are three treatment pathways:

• Respiratory
• Heart Failure
• Cellulitis

We expect patients to be under the care of the Integrated Virtual Ward for up to 14 days, depending on their treatment plans and recovery.

If suitable for Integrated Virtual ward care, patients are trained how to use a device which sends continuous or intermittent observations including their breathing, heart rate, and temperature, directly to the Virtual Ward team.

If there is a sign of health deterioration such as blood pressure rising, the Virtual Ward team gets an alert immediately. Staff can call the patient over the phone or by video call to talk through any health changes and to decide on the most appropriate next steps.

The service operates from 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week.

When under the care of the Integrated Virtual Ward, patients will remain under the care of their hospital Consultant. Patients will also be supported by Community and Specialist teams from Norfolk Community Health and Care, including: the Community Virtual Ward team and Specialist Heart Failure and Respiratory Nurses.

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Patients can only be referred to this service by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

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Please refer to the Integrated Virtual Ward - Patient Information Leaflet for further details.

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Click here to read the Integrated Virtual Ward - Privacy Notice.