Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s (NNUH) Virtual Ward and Finance teams recently won an award at the National Healthcare Finance Awards.

The awards, run by the Healthcare Finance Management Association (HFMA), are to celebrate innovation and excellence in healthcare finance. The teams won the accolade ‘Delivering Value with Digital Technology Award’ for their Virtual Ward initiative.

Since the formation of the Virtual Ward’s launch in 2021, more than 1,700 patients have been able to complete their hospital care from the comfort of their own home, whilst being remotely monitored and having regular contact with a clinician. The Virtual Ward saved more than 13,000 hospital bed days in a year and with 98% of patients are satisfied with the service.

“We are delighted to win this national healthcare finance award,” said Roy Clarke, Chief Finance Officer at NNUH.

“Tricia Cook and Jack McIntyre from our finance team worked as part of the multi-disciplinary team to develop the financial case, demonstrating the costs of a virtual bed as being 66% less than those of a physical bed.”

“This award means a great deal to all the colleagues on the Virtual Ward,” said Claire Beard, Virtual Ward Manager at NNUH.

“We are delighted to be able to deliver safe and excellent care to patients in the place most appropriate to them, at a third of the cost of an inpatient stay. All my colleagues are hardworking and dedicated and deserve every recognition for all of their achievements in the last two years.”

“I am immensely proud of the Virtual Ward team and delighted with the collaboration of the Finance team,” said Ed Prosser-Snelling, Chief Digital Information Officer at NNUH.

“The success of the Virtual Ward has been a whole organisation effort and delivers safe care at the third of the cost of a typical inpatient ward.”