Background Compton Care’s clinical strategy (2022–2025) identifies the need for responsive services to prevent crisis escalation, avoid hospital admissions and support hospital discharges. Our community Rapid Response Service leads on individualised specialist end of life care for patients in the last days to weeks of life. We work collaboratively with hospital specialist palliative care and community-based teams supporting patients in their own homes ensuring holistic, person-centred care is delivered, symptoms are managed, and families supported 24/7.

The national virtual ward model allows patients to remain in the place they call home supported virtually through technology, to be appropriately stepped up or down to an appropriate healthcare setting (NHS England. What is a virtual ward? [Internet]; 2024 Jan 18). We recognised that our red and amber Gold Standards Framework patients needed a more hands-on approach in a crisis leading to the launch of our high intensity virtual ward (VW) in April 2023.

Aim To evaluate the service over its first year including number of patients admitted to the virtual ward, acute admissions averted, patient deaths and percentage achieving preferred place of death.

Methods Data is inputted every weekday into an Excel spreadsheet. Data collected over the first year has been reviewed retrospectively.

Results Since the launch a year ago, we have admitted 755 patients to our virtual ward. 702 hospital admissions were successfully averted appropriately following input from our Rapid Response team. 53 patients (7%) were admitted to hospital. 243 patients (32%) died while admitted to our virtual ward with 99.5% achieving their preferred place of death. Equality, diversity and inclusion data, as well as IPOS trends will be presented.

Conclusions Data demonstrates this high intensity virtual ward model has successfully averted unnecessary hospital escalation through timely collaborative intervention at a time of crisis and has resulted in most patients dying in their preferred place of death. This further reduces pressure on acute services.