NHS Trust powers virtual hospital vision with seamless tech transition and real impact
Medway NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest and most innovative NHS trusts in the South-East of England, has taken a bold step forward in its virtual care journey by transitioning to a new digital platform – part of its strategy to scale a full virtual hospital at the heart of an integrated neighbourhood.
Partnering with health tech provider Feebris, the Trust has not only ensured continuity of care but has
significantly enhanced efficiency, experience and outcomes, seIng a new benchmark for virtual care in the NHS.
At the heart of this transformation is a simple but powerful principle: measuring what matters. As virtual wards become business as usual across the NHS, the Trust and its SMART (Surgical, Medical, Acute and Recovery) team – covering Hospital at Home and Virtual Monitoring – are leading the way in identifying and evidencing the key drivers that justify the business case for a virtual hospital at scale.
Real Impact, Rapid Transition
The transition to the new platform was completed in just six weeks, without disrupting services or increasing the burden on staff. Within the month of go-live:
“Change fatigue is real in the NHS,” said Jackie Hammond, Head of Nursing, Virtual Ward Services (SMART). “The reason we selected Feebris as our partner for scale, after a careful selection process, was the configurability of the technology, their hands-on change management, willingness to jointly evolve processes and commitment to making the transition not just smooth, but energising.”
Efficiency That Matters
What sets Medway apart is their courageous leadership in harnessing new models of work to deliver undeniable benefits for patients, staff and budgets. From a financial and operational standpoint, the programme is saving time and money during a time of unprecedented pressure:
The Trust is also the first pilot site to successfully submit data to the Federated Data Platform as part of NHS England’s move to a new minimum data set for virtual wards.
This will replace the current SitRep and enable automated daily collection of pseudonymised data nationally.
Patient Experience at the Centre
Patients are the heart of the Medway service, deliberately designed to reduce stress, improve recovery and reduce risk of hospital-related complications. Patients are not just receiving care – they’re embracing it:
Pauline Pearce, an 80-year-old resident of Sittingbourne, who was the first patient to be admitted to the new virtual ward, shared: “Being on the virtual ward meant I could recover in the comfort of my own home, which made such a difference. I felt supported by the nursing team and it gave me peace of mind knowing they were just a call away.”
Looking Ahead: Virtual Wards Are Just the Beginning
Medway’s journey shows that virtual wards are a launchpad – not the destination. They offer an opportunity to rethink how care is delivered, organised and measured across a region.
“We’re not just delivering care at home,” explained Tracy Stocker, Director of Operations and SRO for the Virtual Ward Programme. “We’re building the systems, culture, and evidence base to support a truly distributed, data-driven and patient-centric virtual hospital.”
Follow Medway’s transformation as the Trust builds the UK’s first regional virtual hospital – grounded in patient-centred care, powered by people and driven by purpose.
About Feebris
Feebris is a leading virtual care navigation company trusted by hundreds of healthcare and social care providers to seamlessly extend hospital-grade monitoring and triage into the homes of the most complex patients, wherever they live. Feebris’ technology delivers transformation across the care continuum, from proactive health management of high-risk patients to admission avoidance and hospital-at-home programmes for high acuity care.
