As winter approaches, healthcare organisations face rising demand. Discover how virtual wards and remote monitoring can prepare healthcare providers for winter, reduce admissions, and maintain clinical capacity.
Table of contents
Introduction: The Coming Tsunami of Winter Pressures
Winter places immense strain on healthcare systems, primarily due to a marked increase in hospital admissions related to cardiovascular and respiratory conditions. The colder months are associated with a 25% rise in heart attacks and a 40% increase in heart attack-related deaths during the holiday season. Additionally, excess winter deaths caused by heart and circulatory diseases rise by 55%. Respiratory conditions are also significantly impacted, with hospitals experiencing an 80% increase in lung disease admissions during the colder months compared to the spring.
Understanding the underlying factors driving these increases is crucial for healthcare organisations as they prepare to manage the heightened demand during winter.
As we approach winter, healthcare systems face considerable pressures from increased admissions due to respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Virtual wards and remote monitoring are invaluable tools that can help us manage this surge by allowing patients to receive hospital-level care at home, reducing the burden on emergency services and ensuring continuity of care. By enhancing our preparedness through education, collaboration, and optimising referral pathways, we can better safeguard patient outcomes and maintain system resilience during these challenging months.”
— Dr. Sukrti Nagpal, GP, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, at Doccla.
Key Drivers of Increased Winter Pressures: Focus on Chronic Conditions
Several key pathologies contribute to the rise in hospital admissions during winter. Recognising these conditions and their effects is essential for healthcare organisations preparing for the seasonal surge.
- Heart Disease and Stroke: Cold weather significantly impacts cardiovascular health. Blood vessels constrict in response to lower temperatures, increasing blood pressure and placing additional strain on the heart. This physiological response can trigger heart attacks and strokes, leading to an uptick in hospital admissions and added pressure on emergency services.
- Respiratory Conditions: Winter exacerbates respiratory conditions like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma. Lower temperatures can trigger bronchospasms and increase susceptibility to respiratory infections such as influenza. These factors cause a surge in hospital admissions for lung diseases during the colder months.
- Circulatory Diseases: The colder weather can worsen other circulatory diseases, affecting blood pressure and heart function. This results in increased hospitalisations and mortality rates for those with existing heart and circulatory conditions during winter.
5 Tactics to Alleviate Winter Pressures
With the challenges of winter pressures looming, healthcare organisations must adopt focused, actionable tactics that optimise existing resources and enhance patient care without relying on new funding or a sudden increase in staff availability:
1.Strengthen Winter Planning and Resource Familiarisation:
Conduct a thorough review of all services, ensuring familiarity with the available resources and pathways for managing winter pressures. Regularly brief and engage clinical teams in scenario planning and emergency procedure drills to enhance readiness and promote a coordinated, efficient response to seasonal challenges.
2.Enhance Education on Hospital at Home and Virtual Wards Programmes:
Expand training for clinical staff on the referral processes for “Hospital at Home” and virtual ward programmes. Clarifying when and how to refer patients can prevent unnecessary hospital admissions. Additionally, provide patients with clear, accessible information to help them understand and feel comfortable with the concept of receiving care at home, thus easing the transition from traditional settings.
3.Collaborate with Local GPs and Care Homes:
Foster proactive engagement with local GPs and care homes to promote virtual wards as essential tools for managing patient care during winter. Ensure these providers understand how they can integrate such programmes into their care strategies to avoid overwhelming urgent care services. Encourage a collaborative approach to sharing best practices for identifying and managing high-risk patients.
4.Review and Refine Referral Guidelines for Virtual Care:
Anticipate potential bottlenecks by regularly reviewing and updating referral guidelines and procedures for virtual care programmes. Streamlining criteria and clarifying protocols can maintain the effectiveness of these pathways under pressure, ensuring patients receive timely and appropriate care.
5.Optimise Discharge Planning and Post-Discharge Support:
Review and enhance discharge planning processes to ensure timely and safe discharge of patients who are suitable for home care or virtual wards. Establish clear communication channels and collaboration between hospital teams, community care providers, and virtual ward teams to streamline post-discharge support. This approach helps prevent readmissions by ensuring that patients receive appropriate follow-up care, monitoring, and access to necessary resources. Utilising digital tools and remote monitoring can aid in maintaining oversight of patients’ conditions and providing timely interventions if required.
By implementing these targeted strategies, healthcare organisations can effectively manage the anticipated surge in demand during winter. These steps not only address immediate needs but also contribute to building a more resilient healthcare system that can withstand future periods of increased demand.
Looking Ahead: A Blueprint for Winter Preparedness
As healthcare providers face the upcoming winter pressures, it’s vital to consider a comprehensive approach that includes both preventative and reactive strategies. The next blog in this series will delve deeper into a detailed playbook for healthcare organisations, outlining practical steps to maximise clinical capacity during winter. The third and final blog will focus on ensuring continuity of care through integrated digital health solutions and how they can sustain healthcare delivery even under extreme pressure.
By anticipating the challenges ahead and preparing effectively, healthcare providers can mitigate the impact of winter pressures, safeguarding both patient outcomes and system resilience.
This revised version maintains a high level of specificity and practical advice, reflecting the realities healthcare organisations face, and directly links each suggested strategy to actionable steps they can take now. Hyperlinks to the relevant studies and resources provide evidence and further reading, reinforcing the credibility of the recommendations.
Building Virtual Ward Capacity for Winter Resilience in Your Healthcare Setting
If your healthcare organisation does not currently have virtual care options, such as virtual wards or Hospital at Home programmes, now is the time to explore these innovative solutions to enhance winter resilience.
Virtual wards have proven to be highly effective in managing patient care outside of the hospital, especially during periods of high demand like winter. Recent data from NHS England shows that virtual wards have treated over 100,000 patients in the past year, allowing them to receive hospital-level care at home, speeding up recovery, and freeing up hospital beds for those in need of acute care. It is estimated that up to 20% of emergency hospital admissions could be avoided by better supporting vulnerable patients at home through these programmes.
The impact of virtual wards is particularly significant for patients with chronic conditions. For instance, virtual wards have helped reduce avoidable admissions by providing comprehensive care at home. For heart failure patients, they offer continuous monitoring and timely interventions, which has been linked to a reduction in hospitalisations by up to 30%, according to studies. Virtual wards can help reduce the number of hospital admissions for COPD and other chronic lung diseases. For example, 70% of COPD patients in a virtual ward were not readmitted to the hospital as an emergency.
These programmes not only reduce admissions but also contribute to shorter lengths of stay, enhance patient satisfaction, and deliver better health outcomes by enabling care in familiar surroundings, utilising technology like apps, wearables, and medical devices for remote monitoring.
If you are interested in learning more about how virtual wards can be established in your healthcare setting to help alleviate winter pressures, click here to explore Doccla’s Virtual Ward solutions.
Doccla provides tailored virtual ward services that integrate seamlessly with existing care pathways, helping you optimise patient care and build a more resilient healthcare system. By exploring and implementing virtual ward options, your organisation can better manage patient flow, reduce the burden on acute services, and improve patient outcomes during the challenging winter months and beyond.
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