An Economic Evaluation of a virtual Covid Ward in Leicester, Leicestershire, and Rutland

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to demonstrate the impact of a virtual Covid--19 ward on NHS resource use. MethodsDifferent methods were used to derive comparators for the observational data on acute length of stay versus the actual lengths of stay of 310 patients on acute wards and differences estimated. The resource use associated with delivering care in the virtual ward were collected on an ongoing basis. ResultsThe virtual ward delivered estimated health care system savings of 1,103 bed days, {pound}529,719 in net financial savings across two key groups of patients; those who had been on oxygen and required weaning off it while within the virtual ward and those not requiring oxygen therapy with less severe acute Covid disease. The costs of the intervention were 9.7% of the estimated gross savings and the mean net saving per patient was {pound}1,709 in the base case without including the savings associated with a likely reduction in re-admissions. The 30-day re-admission rate was 2.9%, which was substantially beneath alternative comparative data. The mean cost of the intervention was {pound}184.38 per patient. ConclusionThe virtual ward delivered significant financial savings in both groups of patients, did so with a high degree of confidence, whilst doing so at a very low absolute and relative cost.