A community virtual ward model to support older persons with complex health care and social care needs

C Lewis,1 Z Moore,1 F Doyle,2 A Martin,3 D Patton,1 LE Nugent1 1School of Nursing and Midwifery, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, 2Department of Psychology, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, 3Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland Background: Globally the older population is increasing rapidly. As a result there is an increase in frail older persons living within the community, with increased risks of a hospital admission and higher mortality and morbidity rates. Due to complexity of care, health care professionals face challenges in providing effective case management and avoiding unplanned admissions to hospital. A community virtual ward (CVW) model was developed to assist health care professionals to support older persons at home during periods of illness and/or functional decline.Methods: A quantitative observational study was conducted to examine if a CVW model of care reduced unplanned hospital admissions and emergency department (ED) presentations in 54 patients over a 12-month period. The sign-rank test examined matched data on bed days, ED presentations, and unplanned hospital admissions pre- and post-CVW implementation. Other risk factors for admission to hospital were examined using the Mann–Whitney test pre- and post-CVW admission, including falls, living alone, and cognition. Correlations between hospital admission avoidances and unplanned hospital admissions and ED presentations were tested using Spearman’s p test.Results: There was a reduction in ED presentations post-CVW admission (P