Virtual Ward (with continuous monitoring)

About the Virtual Ward

Virtual wards (also known as ‘hospital at home’) allow patients to get the care they need at home, safely and conveniently, rather than being in hospital. 

Health care professionals will monitor your condition at home and make changes to your care and treatment without the need for you to stay in hospital.

You are not being discharged

When you are looked after on a Virtual ward, you have not been discharged from the hospital. You are still under the care of Kingston Hospital. We will continue to care for you to make sure your condition does not get worse.

How we monitor you

When you leave hospital, we will give you wearable device that you strap around your arm. This is used to check your heart rate, breathing rate, temperature, and the oxygen level in your blood. It does this every 15 minutes. It sends the results automatically back to our 24-hour monitoring system.

You may also be asked to use additional devices, such as a blood pressure machine or weighing scales. 

Staff at the monitoring hub will telephone or video call you every day to check how you are feeling and to ask if you have any concerns. They may call you more often, depending on how you are. They will then speak to the Virtual ward team to discuss how you are.

Before you go home

Before you leave hospital, a member of the Virtual ward team will explain how our service works and why you are being admitted under our care.

We will ask you to sign a consent form that states that you will follow the monitoring and treatment we recommend.

We will give you sealed boxes with the monitoring equipment that you need to take home. We may also give you additional equipment, such as a blood pressure machine. 

Before you leave, the Nurse-in-charge on the ward will give you any medications you need and explain how to take them.

When you get home

Once at home, follow these instructions.

• Call the Central Remote Monitoring Hub on 020 8274 6291 to tell them you have arrived home.
• Follow these instructions to set up the equipment.
  1. Open the boxes. Keep the boxes and packaging for when you no longer need it.
  2. Plug in the white square box (the WiFi hub) and the round magnetic charger.
  3. When you see 3 blue lights on the white square box, turn on the tablet and follow the instructions to set it up. You may also read through the instruction manual provided.
  4. If you have any difficulty setting up the device, phone the monitoring hub for guidance. If you still cannot set up the device, we will visit you the next day to help you.
• Wear the monitoring device around your arm 24 hours a day, apart from when you are taking a shower or bath.
• We will ask you to check your blood pressure twice a day, in the morning and at 4pm.
• Make sure that you are near your phone so that you will be able to answer it throughout the day.
• Stay at home most of the time because you are being monitored by the hospital as if you are on the ward. If you need to leave the house, tell the monitoring hub first. This is so that we know why the monitoring pauses.
• Take all medicines as instructed on the label or on the letter given to you by the ward. 
• We will call you the following day for your daily check-up. After that, we will call you at least one a day.

Any other concerns

• We may visit you at home depending on your condition.
• If you are well enough, we will continue to monitor you from home. 
• If you need additional scans or procedures, we may ask you to come back to the hospital via SDEC and go home the same day.
• If you condition is getting worse, we may need to admit you again, via our Emergency Department (A&E).

If you run out of medicines

We will supply all your medications whilst you are under our care. Let us know if you are running low on anything. We will deliver what you need to your home.

Do not contact your pharmacist unless we tell you to do so. They will not have an updated list of your medications as you are not yet discharged.

After you are discharged from the Virtual ward

After you are discharged from the Virtual ward, we will come to collect the monitoring devices. Please return it just as you received it, inside the boxes.

We will also bring any medications if you have run out.

We will send you a discharge summary letter by post and a copy will also be sent separately to your GP.

Who to contact after discharge

If you become unwell after being discharged from the Virtual ward:

• contact your GP
• call NHS 111 
• or call 999 in an emergency.