Short-term care and monitoring for patients in their own home, as an alternative to being in hospital.
Patients receive hospital-level care at home from a team of healthcare professionals, including nurses, advanced practitioners and GPs. The service helps patients who need extra support and monitoring for a short period of time, usually up to two weeks, but who do not need to be in hospital.
Care is provided 7 days a week.
Patients
The Virtual Ward is for patients who:
- Are registered with a Sussex GP
- Need additional care and monitoring for a short period of time
- Would otherwise be admitted to hospital, or need support to leave hospital sooner
- Can be safely cared for at home
How the service works
Patients on the Virtual Ward are cared for by a team of healthcare professionals who monitor their condition and provide treatment at home. This may include visits from healthcare staff, medication, equipment and regular monitoring.
The team works closely with the patient’s GP, hospital teams and community services to make sure care is safe and joined up.
How to access the service
Patients cannot refer themselves to the Virtual Ward.
Referrals are made by GPs, hospital teams and other healthcare professionals through the Sussex referral system (OneCall).