Virtual ward saves lives and removes ‘hassle’
When Askern man Frank Jackson went under the care of a ‘virtual ward’ in his own home he says it most likely saved his life.
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00:00So what's your name? It's Francis Jackson. And how old are you Franti? I'm 75. And recently
00:16you've been using virtual wars? Yes, there were two occasions, one was in October and
00:23that followed on from, we'd actually gone to the doctors and they did a blood test and
00:28ECG and they immediately referred me to DRI. So we went into DRI in the afternoon and we
00:38came out the following morning at 7 o'clock and I'd been referred to the cardiologist.
00:47We went to see them and they referred us to the virtual war. I'd never heard of this,
00:53it was totally new to us, so I didn't know what to expect. But the big advantage is and
01:00the blessing for me was that I wasn't admitted to hospital. If you have to be admitted to
01:07hospital because you've got an operation or anything like that, that I think you can tolerate
01:12and you can't wait to get out. But to be able to come home, be in your own environment and for
01:19the nurses to come to you and like Niece already said, my wife, you couldn't wish for better
01:25people. I was five days, everything seemed to go alright so they discharged me and that was
01:32in October of last year. Unfortunately I relapsed and that was in December, so again I was referred
01:40to the virtual ward and once again went through the process of blood being taken, temperature
01:49being taken, ECG, blood pressures and all the rest of it. But whilst you know that you're ill,
01:58you're in a relaxed environment and that to me is the biggest thing. Plus you're with your own
02:07partners and it's less stress for them, they're not worried about you. Plus they can keep an eye
02:13on you can't they, so you can't really get up to any mischief. It benefited, well Frank for instance,
02:19with his treatment that they were able to come to him at home. But it also benefited myself and
02:25relatives that didn't have to go into the hospital to see him. Because it's two buses for me because
02:32I don't drive and all the kids, our kids work full-time. So it would have put me, they'd have done it,
02:38they'd have taken me. But it saves all that, you know, so yeah I think it's marvellous.
02:44I had a carotid endarterectomy, I was in critical care and they kicked me out the following morning
02:54because clearly I was well enough and that's what it's all about with the virtual ward. It's just an
03:01extension of the hospital but in your own home. Yeah. You know, you've got your own facilities,
03:06you know what I mean, to wander around looking for things or getting permission to, you know,
03:11go to the loo. That's probably the only thing, nobody brings you a bottle. You have to do that
03:17yourself. So virtual ward for anybody listening is where the care's turned round and delivered in
03:22your own home rather than on a ward. If you're watching this video and you was offered the
03:27opportunity to go on virtual ward, what would you say to them? Grab it. Yeah. It is, I know sometimes
03:36people say, oh you know, if you're in hospital you're getting your meals and that, but when you're at home
03:41you still get your meals and that. You've got your family around you, you know, it's so much less
03:48hassle, less stress. And do you feel you could get better quicker because you were at home? I think
03:53I honestly believe that you do because you haven't got the trauma of being in the ward where other
03:59people are poorly. I mean one of the things that people do say, you're in hospital and I've
04:05experienced it some time ago, in the middle of the night you're disturbed. Yes. Not by the staffing
04:13nurse or whatever, but by the residents, you know, the people that are actually in there. Because not
04:19everybody can sleep. I don't knock the hospital because it has its place and people need it,
04:27especially when they've had an operation. Yeah. You know, you need that care. Because I truly
04:37believe that if it wasn't for the virtual ward, I might not have been here. And that's a big thing
04:44to me. I know that I'm not out of the woods yet. Yes. But we're getting there. And the follow-up
04:50from those two times that I were in the virtual ward has opened the doors. Yeah. You know, people
05:00have sat up and listened and looked and investigated and now I'm hoping that we're on the last leg.
05:07Yes. Thank you very much, Frank, for your comments on virtual ward. No, it's the best thing that's
05:13been since sliced bread, really has. If all of the NHS can adopt it, I'm sure it would be a better service.
05:20Excellent. Thank you. Thank you.