Our VRI programme has been working with departments and specialties around the Trust to develop and publish a range of excellent digital patient education tools.
Several videos and microsites have been produced with consultants and other healthcare professionals to give patients information about coming into hospital and how to help their recovery at home.
Our VRI creates a virtual hospital, without walls, where a patient’s treatment and care can begin and end in their own home with support from our fantastic people every step of the way.
A virtual hospital and virtual services are methods that we use to give hospital standard care to patients closer to, and often in, their own home. Not only can we deliver clinical care safely but patients are often spared the need to travel to, or stay in, hospital.
We already have a number of virtual services. The development and use of virtual and digital alternatives to more traditional methods of caring for patients increased considerably during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were so successful that we intend to expand their use and have created a programme of work to do this, which we call our Virtual Royal Infirmary (or VRI).
We know that there are many benefits to delivering services virtually.
Our Virtual Royal Infirmary programme has five main VRI ambitions to:
We will achieve these ambitions through five workstreams:
Led by Mr James Halstead, Consultant Surgeon
“We’re aiming to create one Trust-wide virtual ward with single governance, information requirements, principles and oversight. We’d like to use or Elderly Virtual Ward as a template to ensure that every major specialty is able to offer access to the virtual ward for every clinically suitable patient.”
Led by Prof Rachel Pilling, Consultant Ophthalmologist
“Our aim is to ensure that we make non face-to-face, telephone or video outpatient appointments the norm, with a particular focus on follow up appointments.”
Led by Dr Paul Sainsbury, Consultant Cardiologist
“We want to create and deliver material online so that patients can access support, education and self-management resources that are bespoke to their condition, reducing the need for hospital attendance.”
We have partnered with AccessAble to provide detailed information on accessibility within our hospitals.
Our services are regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Find out more about our ratings.
