Welcome to the virtual ward at Cambridge University Hospitals

Introduction

This leaflet is designed for patients who are currently in hospital but able to receive medical care at home instead. It describes how the 'virtual ward' system works so that you are familiar with the processes and know what to expect

What is the virtual ward?

Virtual wards bring our hospital into the place you are living in

Virtual wards allow suitable patients to get the care they need safely and conveniently at home, rather than being in hospital. This leaflet provides information to you, your family and/or carers how we are going to do this.

Cambridge University Hospital’s (CUH) virtual ward has been introduced to support people at the place they call home, including care homes. In a virtual ward, support can sometimes include using monitoring technology via applications on a mobile phone and/or wearable technology. Every patient has an individual, personalised virtual ward care plan designed to meet their specific care needs.

Who works on a virtual ward?

The core team includes, your hospital doctor, a lead nurse, a team of experienced nurses, a pharmacist and allied health professionals such as, physiotherapists, speech and language therapist, dieticians and occupational therapists.

What does a virtual ward look like?

A virtual ward, provides the same medical care as a hospital ward, but you are in the comfort of your own home/living space. In line with your personalised virtual ward care plan, you will have regular contact with the team who will call you and check how you are progressing and discuss your monitoring results if you have monitoring equipment.

The benefits of the virtual ward are that you are in your own environment yet still being looked after by a team of experienced health professionals.

How do you contact the virtual ward team?

The virtual ward team is available seven days per week, 24 hours per day on telephone number 01223 806806 for all virtual ward inpatients.

How are you looked after on a virtual ward?

If you are suitable for admission to the virtual ward and you would prefer to be looked after in the virtual ward, your doctor will contact the virtual ward team. You will not be recommended to the virtual ward team if your doctor feels you would not be safe at home. The virtual ward team will then come to see you and your doctor to agree a personalised care plan with you. This will include discussing whether you need monitoring technology, any further investigations that might be required, your medications and the level of contact the virtual ward team needs to have with you. If you are not happy with going to the virtual ward or feel uncomfortable please speak to your doctor.

On the day you are admitted to the virtual ward and go home you will be given all your medications and a clear plan for how to contact the virtual ward team. The team will contact you once you get home to ensure that everything you need is set up and working and inform your GP that you are now admitted to the virtual ward. The virtual ward team will then follow your agreed care plan made by your hospital doctor and record everything in your electronic patient record.

If at any point you would like to speak to the virtual ward team call us on:

01223 806806

When you are ready to be discharged from the virtual ward we will provide a discharge summary to you and your GP and contact any community services you might need as with a standard hospital discharge.

Medicines

When you leave hospital for the virtual ward you will be given a supply of medicines labelled for you to take when you are in the virtual ward and for one to two weeks afterwards to give you time to organise new prescriptions from your GP and community pharmacy.

It is important you take your medicines as recommended by your doctor.

Your hospital doctor might need to change your medicines during your virtual ward stay. This will be discussed with you and a supply arranged if necessary.

Waste medicines should be returned to your community pharmacy.

What do you do after discharge from the virtual ward?

Your ongoing care will be handed back to your GP, community provider or your existing specialist team. Once you have been discharged from the virtual ward please contact them if you have any concerns.

If you have not already done so, we would encourage you to sign up for MyChart. This is the electronic patient portal at Cambridge University Hospitals which allows patients to securely access parts of their health record held within the hospitals’ electronic patient record system (Epic). It is available via your home computer or smart phone.

If you are interested in this please let us know and we can provide information, or look on our website.

Your care plan

Name

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Date

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

How and when will we contact you?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

What, if any, monitoring technology do you have?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

How do you return the monitoring technology if required?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Planned investigations

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Emergency contact, and number

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Other

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .