North Middlesex University Hospital has launched a virtual fracture clinic with the aim to “improve patient experience and boost efficiency”.
The virtual clinic supports patients following a scan for a fracture or a minor injury, aiming to reduce physical follow-up appointments where possible. According to Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, this means that some patients “will no longer have to come back in for a consultation” as they will be able to review their scan and receive a treatment plan remotely instead.
At the moment, this information is sent out to the patient “within 72 hours of their scan” either via a letter or a phone call. The hospital will also contact the patient directly should any further consultations be needed and to offer guidance on managing their recovery “in the comfort of their own home”. The trust notes how this will “improve waiting times for both patients seen virtually and those needing to visit the face-to-face clinic.”
Hosain Hadi, Darzi fellow and orthopaedic registrar at North Mid, commented on the implementation of the virtual fracture clinic: “The in-person clinic can be very busy and has seen over 100 people attend in the morning alone. With the virtual fracture clinic, most of these patients will be saving journeys into the hospital and those that do come in will have been assessed virtually prior to attending. Waiting times will be reduced and fewer face-to-face visits will be needed.”
Virtual wards and healthcare: the wider trend
Last month, NHS England South East reported a total of 175,000 patients have used virtual ward services since April 2022. This has shown the “steady growth” of this care pathway with “over 85,000 admissions to virtual wards” across the region during 2024.
The Black Country ICB recently published a prior information notice for the procurement of a remote monitoring and virtual ward platform valued at £600k. They are looking for a system that supports the delivery of “multi-disciplinary and collaborative health services”, by opening a pre-market engagement ahead of a procurement mid-2025.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust shared an evaluation of its virtual royal infirmary programme, demonstrating the impact of its “hospital-level care directly to patients’ homes”. One of the key metrics reported on is the total discharge rate, with 752 patients being discharged from the virtual ward since it launched in 2023.
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