Patients on virtual wards are given oximeters that fit on their finger and test heart rate and oxygen levelsThousands of Covid-19 patients will be treated in their own homes in an expansion of “virtual wards” to help the health service cope with a surge in Omicron cases. Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England’s medical director, said the health service was on a “war footing”. Plans have been passed to treat 15 per cent of Covid patients at home, with remote monitoring of their oxygen levels. SponsoredKeeping Covid patients out of hospital means the NHS will have more beds free for patients otherwise waiting in ambulances and on trolleys in A&E. Separately, the service aims to discharge up to 10,000 hospital patients before the start of January.

Source: The Times December 19, 2021 04:15 UTC