Re: Why spend billions on hospital beds when you can care for patients at home?
Dear Editor,
"No doubt some patients could benefit from virtual wards, selection being critical." ; those final three words of this quote from John Puntis balanced piece 'says it all'. Such a strategy should not become some top-down policy, it could only have a chance of success by ownership, design and implementation by those who know the problems at the sharp end. It would inevitably require additional resource and would certainly require ongoing careful assessment; none of which should be a barrier to cautious trialling. 'Democracy at Work' in the NHS (BMJ 2023;381:p783) is a prerequisite.
Competing interests:
Doctors for the NHS, Keep Our NHS Public, Patients Association
Rapid Response:
Re: Why spend billions on hospital beds when you can care for patients at home?
Dear Editor,
"No doubt some patients could benefit from virtual wards, selection being critical." ; those final three words of this quote from John Puntis balanced piece 'says it all'. Such a strategy should not become some top-down policy, it could only have a chance of success by ownership, design and implementation by those who know the problems at the sharp end. It would inevitably require additional resource and would certainly require ongoing careful assessment; none of which should be a barrier to cautious trialling. 'Democracy at Work' in the NHS (BMJ 2023;381:p783) is a prerequisite.
Competing interests: Doctors for the NHS, Keep Our NHS Public, Patients Association