More patients to be treated in 'virtual wards' as Victoria's home hospital program expands

A pilot program to treat Victorians in a "virtual hospital ward" is set to expand to keep pressure off the state's stretched health system.

The program, run by Austin Health, enables acute patients to be treated at home after chemotherapy or operations by providing virtual appointments.

Eligible patients are given monitoring technology, connected to either the wrist or chest, which feeds medical data back to clinicians.

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Austin Health nurse unit manager Angela Sullivan said the technology can speed up the recovery process for patients, reduce the risk of infections and allow for around-the-clock monitoring.

"We can see their respiratory rate, their oxygen saturations all the vital signs that the nurse in the hospital would do at the bedside we can do with technology," she said.

Desi Iliopoulos receives her medical examinations to manage and treat her leukaemia from the comfort of her own home.

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She told 9News she remains in constant contact with the team from the hospital.

"They call you, they text you. They monitor your temperature," she said.

Sullivan said if a patient appears to become unwell they have an escalation plan in place.

"The patient can call us and say (they) feel really unwell and we can instantly see their vital signs based on that.

"They also have ward rounds each day with our clinical teams."

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said 45 hospitals across Victoria were already involved in the program.

Thomas said the government would invest an additional $800 million of funding into the Better at Home initiative which would support the program's expansion.

"I'm really thrilled that Austin Health are making this a permanent part of the way in which they deliver care," Thomas said.

"And they're doing to because they know it delivers better outcomes."

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