The Virtual Hospital (sometimes called a “Virtual Ward” or “Hospital at Home”) provides:
Ongoing monitoring by a clinical team (sometimes daily)
Advice and support when you need it
Access to specialist input if your condition changes.
You will remain under the care of a hospital team, even though you are at home.
Why would I be admitted to a Virtual Hospital?
You may be discharged from hospital but admitted to the Virtual Hospital because your condition:
Requires ongoing monitoring or treatment
Can be safely managed at home
Does not require you to stay in hospital.
This approach allows you to recover in a more comfortable setting while still receiving high-quality care. It also allows us to free up hospital beds for patients who need them.
How will my condition be monitored?
Depending on your needs, we may ask you to:
Check and record your observations (e.g. your temperature, pulse, oxygen levels)
Report symptoms or any concerns
Take medications as prescribed.
We will discuss everything with you before you are discharge from the ward.
Is this safe?
Yes. This option is only offered when your team feels it is safe for you to go home with the right advice and support. If you are unsure, please talk to us before you leave. We want you to feel confident before leaving the hospital.
Who will look after me?
Your care team will be made up by a number of people depending on your specific needs, but may include:
Nurses
Doctors
Advanced Practitioners
Allied health professionals (e.g. physiotherapy, pharmacy)
Administrative support staff.
What if I need special equipment?
If you need equipment such as:
Blood pressure monitor
Pulse oximeter to measure your oxygen levels
Thermometer to take your temperature.
We will provide them and explain how to use them safely.
Will my test/scan be delayed because I went home?
No. Your test is still prioritised and arranged as part of your hospital care.
Do I need to contact my GP?
No. This is organised through hospital services. Once complete, your GP will receive a copy of the results.
What will happen if I miss my appointment?
The team will contact you and discuss next steps.
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Read more on the pathways that affect you.
What is Discharge to Scan?
Discharge to Scan means you are well enough to go home, but you still need a CT or MRI scan to help your hospital team complete your care.
Instead of staying in hospital to wait for your scan, you can recover at home within our Virtual Hospital and return for your scan when your appointment is ready.
This helps you:
Get home sooner
Rest and recover in familiar surroundings
Avoid staying in hospital longer than you need to.
Why am I being offered this?
Your hospital team has checked that:
You are medically fit to leave hospital
It is safe for you to go home.
You have been offered Discharge to Scan because it is safe, planned and supported.
Remember ‘It’sOkay to Ask’. The hospital team will make sure you understand the Benefits, Risks, and Alternatives, including doing nothing (We call this BRAN).
What happens next?
Going home
Before you leave hospital, we will:
Explain why it is safe for you to go home
Talk through any symptoms to watch out for
Give you clear advice on who to contact if you feel unwell.
The team are happy to answer your questions. You should feel confident and informed about going home, before you leave the hospital.
Your scan appointment
After you go home:
The Virtual Hospital will contact you
The staff will book your scan
We will phone you with the appointment details
We may offer you an appointment at any hospital in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. If you request a specific location, this may delay your scan
Most scans are arranged within 5-7 working days.
You do not need to phone to book the scan yourself. We will do this for you.
Coming back for your scan
On the day of your scan:
You will come into hospital just for the scan
The team will explain what will happen
You can usually go home after your scan.
Getting your results
After your scan:
The results will be reviewed with your hospital team
We will contact you with the results within a few days of your scan
Your referring clinician or hospital team will let you know if you need any follow up appointments or treatment.
What should I do while I’m at home?
While waiting for your scan:
Follow the advice given by your hospital team
Rest and recover as you normally would
Get help urgently if you feel worse.
Your hospital team will give you clear instructions on:
Which symptoms mean you should get help
Who to contact during the day
What to do out of hours.
If you are worried, do not wait for your scan appointment.
Contact Information
If you have a non-urgent concern: Contact the Virtual Hospital between 8.00am and 10.00pm, 7 days a week by calling 0800 652 1425. Your enquiry will be passed to a member of the clinical team for advice.
If you think it’s urgent but not life-threatening – Call NHS 24 on 111.
If you think it’s an emergency – Go straight to your nearest A&E or call 999.
Discharge to Virtual Review means you are well enough to go home, but you still need follow-up blood tests to help your hospital team complete your care.
Instead of staying in hospital to wait for your blood tests, you can recover at home within our Virtual Hospital and return for your blood tests when your appointment is ready.
This helps you:
Get home sooner
Rest and recover in familiar surroundings
Avoid staying in hospital longer than you need to.
Why am I being offered this?
Your hospital team has checked that:
You are medically fit to leave hospital
It is safe for you to go home
You still need monitoring (blood tests).
You have been offered Discharge to Virtual Review because it is safe, planned, and supported.
Remember ‘It’s Okay to Ask’, the hospital team will make sure you understand the Benefits, Risks, and Alternatives including doing nothing (We call this BRAN).
What happens next
Going home
Before you leave hospital, we will:
Explain why it is safe for you to go home
Talk through any symptoms to watch out for
Give you clear advice on who to contact if you feel unwell.
The team are happy to answer your questions, you should feel confident and informed about going home before you leave the hospital.
Your blood test appointment
After you go home:
The Virtual Hospital will contact you
The staff will book your blood test for you
We will phone you with the appointment details (date/time/location)
Appointments are usually arranged within a few days and up to one week depending on your clinical need.
You must be able to attend a clinic for your blood test as blood tests cannot currently be carried out at home.
Your Virtual Review
After your blood test:
A clinician will review your results
You will have a telephone or video consultation to discuss your care
The team will explain what will happen next:
If your results are reassuring, you may be discharged from the pathway
If further care is needed, your clinical team will explain the next steps.
What should I do while I’m at home?
While waiting for your appointment:
Follow the advice given by your hospital team Rest and recover as you normally would
Attend your blood test appointment as arranged Get help urgently if you feel worse.
Your hospital team will give you clear instructions on:
Which symptoms mean you should get help
Who to contact during the day
What to do out of hours.
If you are worried, do not wait for your appointment.
Contact Information
If you have a non-urgent concern: Contact the Virtual Hospital between 8.00am and 10.00pm, 7 days a week by calling 0800 652 1425. Your enquiry will be passed to a member of the clinical team for advice.
If you think it’s urgent but not life-threatening: Call NHS 24 on 111.
If you think your condition is life threatening: Go straight to your nearest A&E or call 999.
Our service is made up of Health and Social Work professionals. It is for Adults, 18 and over, who have a diagnosed learning disability.
What is a Learning Disability?
A Learning Disability is a lifelong condition that affects the way a person understands information, how they can communicate, how they learn skills and how they cope independently.
How can we help?
For adults with a diagnosed learning disability in Inverclyde, we can offer help in a number of ways. This can include accessing community support, help to manage at home, support with managing physical and mental health. This normally includes assessment, treatment and care management. The person with Learning Disabilities is encouraged as much as possible to make decisions about their own care.
Our Team
Administration Staff
Support to make referrals, contact team members, make and change appointments, sending out documents to you.
Nursing
Provide advice, care, and education to help understand your health and any conditions, support to access health services and appointments, monitoring for changes in your physical and mental health.
Occupational therapy
Support people to safely look after themselves at home by providing assessment and education around independent living skills, finding the right activities for you, supporting accessibility and adaptation within homes to enable participation and inclusion in daily life activities.
Physiotherapy
Support people to have a healthy and active lifestyle. To ensure people are able to walk safely, assessing and providing care and advice with any issues around this. Assessing need for equipment when there are issues and providing care and advice around good posture and best practice for those with mobility equipment.
Psychiatry
Assess and treat mental health conditions, through tailored support and medication management. Provide assessment and diagnosis for conditions like Autism, ADHD, Dementia, etc.
Psychology
Support people to understand their feelings, behaviours they can’t understand or need help to manage, issues with relationships. Provide care and education on Mental Health Conditions like Addiction, Anxiety, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, etc.
Social Work
Assess needs to work out what support people need to live in the community. Provide information on keeping safe, managing finances, and guidance around processes for Guardianship and Appointeeship. Supporting people with their housing and care provisions, support to enter further education or work options. Promoting independence so people can take part in activities whilst monitoring their safety and raising concerns when needed.
Speech and Language Therapy
Support people to communicate the best they can and how other people communicate with them. Assessing for issues with speech and also with eating and drinking. Making Information easier to understand.
Dietetics
Provide weight management support, advice on healthier diets, assessments for and issues with eating and equipment for eating.
How to be Referred
We have an open referral process which means referrals to the service may come from a variety of sources including Healthcare Workers, Social Work Services, Voluntary Organisations as well as adults and/or their Families & Carers. All referrals should be made with our referral form below and sent to: cldt@inverclyde.gov.uk YOu can also post the form – guidance
Your referral is discussed at our weekly team meeting and if accepted is allocated to the most appropriate professionals. You will received a call back to discuss this referral and be updated with next steps.
What if I don’t have a diagnosis of a Learning Disability?
You will not be eligible for our services.
We are not a diagnostic service but can provide screening or sign – post you to the appropriate service.
Community Mental Health Teams, collocated with Social Work colleagues, providing care and treatment to adults aged 18 to 65 years who have severe and or enduring mental health problems who live in East Renfrewshire.
Teams consist of nurses psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists, health care assistants, social workers and admin staff.
Treatment is agreed and planned in conjunction with service users and carers, with a recovery based approach.
Elderly Mental Health
The service is designed to specifically meet the needs of clients in the Eastwood area, requiring input from mental health services, we prioritise the needs of clients with severe and enduring mental illness and dementia, designing and implementing a framework of care in which the client and carer are central We also provide services to those with mild to moderate mental illness where appropriate.
We use a multi-disciplinary approach to support clients and their carers, liaise with other professional bodies and the voluntary sector, we aim to prevent hospital admissions through community home based care, and look to support clients through the discharge process from psychiatric hospital.
Our multi disciplinary team offers a flexible needs led service, which includes specialised therapeutic group/individual work on a sessional basis.
The following services are planned to be relocated to Barr Street Health Hub in May 2025. More details will follow in due course.
Community Treatment Centre for Brain Injury
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Douglas Inch Centre DIC / Forensic Team
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Lymphoedema Service
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Within the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital we have an Alongside Midwifery Unit, also known as our AMU. This is our hospitals midwife led unit which we are recommending to all women that are low risk of labour and birth complications.
The birthing rooms within the unit are designed to have a homely and relaxing feel and are equipped with mood lighting, speakers and aromatherapy diffusers. We also have lots of equipment to support you in upright and active birth including birthing balls, CUB chairs and large birthing pools. Within the unit we can offer gas and air, morphine and water immersion for pain relief and we can also support you in waterbirth.
The unit is minutes away from labour ward should you request any alternative pain relief such as an epidural or if you or your baby require any additional support. Please talk to your midwife at your next appointment if you are interested in using our AMU for your labour and birth.
Changes to NHSGGC Maternity Visiting and Support from Partners
To ensure we’re maximising rest periods for women staying at our maternity wards, we have changed when partners, key supporters, friends and family can visit.
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