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Philip was the first patient to be discharged from Good Hope Hospital and onto a virtual ward. A virtual ward allows patients to get the care they need at home safely and conveniently, rather than being in hospital.

Philip, 92, lives in Great Barr with his son Mark, who moved in with him during the pandemic.

Until recently, Philip lived very independently but he has several health conditions which limit him and have caused frequent stays in hospital. He is diabetic and has heart and kidney failure, which is what led him to a two-week stay at Good Hope Hospital in April.

After two weeks of being an inpatient, Philip was fed up and wanted to go home.  His son, Mark said: “The care my dad gets in hospital is always great but being in there without his familiar things about him makes him unhappy and disorientated. Also being partially sighted, he especially struggles with making his way around.

“When his consultant offered him the opportunity to return home and continue his care there in a virtual ward, he was really happy to give it a go!”

Mark continued: “We went home and Helen from the frailty team visited us with all the monitoring equipment we needed, showed us how to use it and lent us a tablet to input dad’s readings.

“Every morning I took his blood pressure, oxygen saturation and temperature, input those readings onto the tablet and his virtual ward team would review them. It was really reassuring for both dad and I to know that we could always reach a member of the team on the phone if we were worried or had any questions.

“We did this for two weeks and once the team were happy that his condition was stable, he was discharged from their care back to his GP.”

A few weeks later, Philip was admitted to Sandwell Hospital with a suspected stroke. The clinical team ruled out a stroke, but his heart condition was causing health problems. Philip was again deemed to be suitable for admittance to a virtual ward, this time with Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. He returned home with Mark, who was able to monitor his condition and help with his readings.

Mark said: “Dad is always happier to be at home, so virtual wards worked so well for him. He is able to sleep in his own bed, move around his home safely, and more importantly, we can take trips out to Sutton Park or further afield to enjoy the outdoors. He loves to sit next to a pond in his wheelchair and feed the ducks.

“As my dad has grown older he has more frequent stays in hospital, but there is often very little that can be done for him clinically. The virtual ward team understands that he is happier at home. These virtual wards are a great way to get people like my dad home, more comfortable and happy.”