Wolverhampton's 'exceptional' Paediatric Virtual Ward has celebrated its 1,000th referral

Located at the Wolverhampton Science Park in Bushbury, the service was launched on 11 July 2022, and enables children to be nursed at home through app technology rather than being admitted to New Cross Hospital.

The 'vital' service was launched by Amy Gidden, Paediatric Senior Sister, and Rebecca Taylor, Paediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust and followed the setting up of an Adult Virtual Ward that started in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A huge figure of 410 children and young people were treated in its first year, and just two years later has treated over double that number.

The 1,000th patient was a two-year-old daughter of Wolverhampton couple Amardeep Singh and wife Rupinder Kaur.

She was at New Cross Hospital for nine days following an allergic reaction which was treated with steroids, antibiotics and other medication, before being transferred to the Paediatric Virtual Ward.

Amardeep, said: “Her sats (oxygen levels in her blood) were monitored on a daily basis with staff over the phone, and it was comforting to have that support after all she’d been through.

“Instead of having to go to A&E or call 111, staff were always on the end of the phone for anything we needed to discuss, which was reassuring and very helpful.”

Becky Currie, Matron, Virtual Ward and Paediatric Virtual Ward/Hospital @ Home/Rapid Intervention Team (Community Urgent Care) said: “The Virtual Ward initially began with adult patients but we very quickly identified there was a need for younger people to be treated in a place they like to call home.

“We’re able to deliver hospital-level care using technology and hospital-at-home interventions in the home environment.

“Patients have a really positive experience on our Virtual Ward. They have the same level of monitoring as in a hospital bed, but in their own homes.”

Rebecca said: “Patients initially came from inpatient settings and they were admitted via three pathways – antibiotics at home, respiratory and extended observation.

“Following this, we quickly learned there were a lot more areas we could launch pathways in for patients, so we now treat across 10 pathways.

“The Virtual Ward is growing at a rapid pace – we’re now taking patients from Emergency Department, inpatients, urgent care and GP surgeries.

“We work really well with the Doctors and Nurses in the acute Paediatric setting to create the pathways to identify areas to develop, to ensure as many children are nursed from home as possible.”

Amy said: “The feedback we’ve received has been incredible. It really shows how beneficial the service is.

“One family with twins who were in intensive care got put into our care, and their mother said she would happily shout this service from the rooftop

“She described it as a vital service in the city, said staff expertise was evident and that care was exceptional."