Virtual wards to provide for patients with heart failure
Thousands of patients with heart failure will now get specialist care from home as the NHS expands its virtual wards scheme.
Heart failure patients, used to long stays in hospital, are to benefit from a new NHS clinical guideline, asking local health systems to expand their use of virtual wards.
Around 200,000 people a year are diagnosed with heart failure. People living with this long-term condition require significant input from the NHS services, making up 5% of all emergency hospital admissions in the UK attributed to the condition.
Professor Nick Linker, National Clinical Director for Heart Disease, NHS England said: ‘The expansion of virtual wards for eligible heart failure patients will mean that where clinically appropriate, more people will be able to receive the care and treatment they need from the convenience of their own home and reduce the need for hospital admissions.’
There are around a dozen heart failure virtual wards up and running already, and the Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) and Mersey
Care NHS Foundation Trust (MCFT) are already taking part in the scheme.
Together, the two trusts have supported more than 500 people on virtual wards. Patients are monitored around the clock by skilled clinical staff through home or virtual visits, and they use technology like apps, wearables, and other medical devices, to continually monitor patients’ vital signs.
‘It's almost like having a doctor on tap,’ said Colette Melia, who was treated on an acute heart failure virtual ward by the trusts. Treatment from a virtual ward is ‘a really personalised service,’ she said.
The clinical staff reviewed her every day over the telephone or by video call. They used tech devices to record ECG readings and she was able to digitally record any symptoms she may be having.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: ‘We have already rolled out 10,000 hospital-at-home places which have benefitted thousands of patients across the country, and the expansion of these state-of-the-art beds will allow people to get the specialist care they need from the comfort of familiar surroundings.’
‘Early Support Hubs’ to deliver mental health support for children and young people nationwide
The £5 million fund for ‘Early Support Hubs’ aims to ensure young people have access to early intervention before they reach crisis point.
Additional mental health support for children and young people has been pledged by the Government. The £5 million fund for ‘Early Support Hubs’ aims to ensure young people have access to early intervention before they reach crisis point. Mental Health Minister Maria Caulfield said, ‘To parents across the nation – I want to assure you we're working to get your children that vital early support. Our funding will help hubs to hire counsellors, youth workers and other local experts.’ The Early Support Hubs will offer mental health support and advice to young people without the need for a referral by a doctor or school. Currently, a network of around 60 Early Support Hubs already exists in England and offers support such as group work, counselling, psychological therapies, and signposting to other services. The £5 million fund will go to 10 of these pre-existing hubs to expand their current work. The hubs will also offer advice on wider issues affecting the mental health of young people, including sexual health, exams, drugs and financial worries. ‘Early intervention in mental health is paramount,’ said the Government's Youth Mental Health Ambassador, Dr Alex George. ‘No child or young person experiencing trauma should reach crisis point, and nobody should endure the enormous tragedy of losing a loved one to mental illness.’
But some health leaders questioned the adequacy of the funding. Chief executive of the NHS Confederation's Mental Health Network, Sean Duggan, said the extra funding is ‘very welcome’ and that the service will particularly help young people transitioning from children and adolescent mental health services to adult ones. However, Duggan recognised there will be challenges ahead, particularly staffing the new services as ‘demand will be high and they risk being overwhelmed’. Demand for mental health services has increased significantly since the COVID pandemic and waiting times have remained ‘stubbornly high’. A report published by the NHS in September 2022 revealed average waiting times. Between referral and second contact for children and young people in England (April 2021–March 2022), it was 41 days. Over 39,000 patients waited 12 weeks or more.
While the £5 million fund is a good start, Duggan noted the importance of continued financial support from the Government. ‘Further down the line we would want to see a roll out of these hubs, along with roll out of Mental Health Support Teams in schools included in the forthcoming update to the NHS Long Term Plan.’ He said in the Confederation's response to the new funding. ‘We need to know what the next Long-Term Plan will look like, what funding will be available to support it, and what proportion will be for children and young people's services.