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Written question asked by Helen Whately (Conservative) on Wednesday, 16 October 2024, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 21 October 2024. It was answered by Stephen Kinnock (Labour) on Thursday, 24 October 2024 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.


Virtual Wards

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help extend access to virtual wards to (a) avoid admission to hospital and (b) speed up discharge.

Answer

We are continuing to expand services to treat patients outside of hospitals when they have urgent needs, helping to prevent avoidable hospital admissions and speed up discharges. This includes using virtual wards which have benefited more than 240,000 people across the country so far. The expansion of these innovative services is allowing people to get the specialist care they need safely, and in the comfort of familiar surroundings.

A new virtual wards operational framework by NHS England sets out the further action being taken to improve access to virtual wards. The framework is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/virtual-wards-operational-framework/


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
9511
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Virtual wards
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk