UK’s First Private Virtual Hospital Set to Transform Healthcare with Pioneering At-Home Medical Care Model
Virtue Health announces the launch of a groundbreaking private virtual hospital, offering urgent and elective specialist medical care to patients, in the comfort of their own home, instantly on-demand.
For the first time in the UK, there is a viable, affordable alternative to lengthy A&E waits, potential ‘corridor care’ and prolonged stays in overburdened NHS hospitals[i] via the provision of acute hospital-level care at-home, nationally. Virtue is reinventing the UK model of healthcare by offering remote specialist medical care to patients who need acute treatment but would rather receive it in the comfort and convenience of home, without the wait. This enables patients to avoid hospital admission altogether, or be discharged from NHS hospitals earlier, to continue acute medical treatment at home. Virtue also offers unique health plans for patients living with long-term conditions, to proactively maintain wellness and reduce onset of acute illness.
Virtue brings together consultant-led clinical teams of remote nurses and specialist doctors to monitor and treat patients, enabled by advanced remote diagnostics and monitoring devices. Their services offer care for people with respiratory and cardiology needs as well as common conditions affecting people with frailty, such as cellulitis and urinary tract infections. Care is supported by virtual physical therapy and prescription of medications, including intravenous antibiotics which are delivered by in-home nurse visits.
Virtue delivers care directly to consumers on a self-pay basis, as well as via innovative partnerships with nursing homes and homecare companies. To ease pressures on the healthcare system, Virtue is making a turnkey service available to the NHS, allowing it to transfer patients to Virtue for £139 per day, compared to a cost of nearly £400 per one night of delayed discharge in traditional hospital beds.[ii] This initiative comes at a critical time for the NHS - Lord Darzi’s independent review describes the system as being “in serious trouble”.[iii] A report from the Health Foundation warns that, by 2030, the NHS may require up to 37,000 additional hospital beds to meet rising demand.[iv] Yet, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has acknowledged that the government’s flagship plan to build or expand 40 hospitals in England has already been delayed by at least a decade.[v]
Robert Orford, Virtue Health Founder and CEO, explains, “Unconstrained by the pressures, budgets and complexity that restrict NHS transformation, Virtue has been able to start from a blank canvas and invest freely, to design hospital care as it should be in the 21st century – high quality, on-demand, at-home, and for a price that’s affordable for consumers and the public purse. We’ve been able to deliver this by novel use of technology underpinned by a disruptive business model”.
To create additional hospital capacity, the NHS is increasingly turning to virtual wards which treat acute patients at-home. The NHS’s long-term goal is to provide 24,000 virtual beds, with current figures standing at 12,733.[vi] A growing body of research, including a study by NHS England, highlights the positive impact of virtual wards on patient health, notably reducing hospital admissions and readmissions.[vii],[viii]
Dr Andrew Barlow, Virtue’s Chief Medical Officer - and the pioneer of the UK’s first and largest virtual ward for Covid during the pandemic - comments, “For anyone, a hospital admission can be a catastrophic life event, and for an elderly person it can be the start of a negative cycle of decline. Virtual wards have been shown to improve clinical outcomes compared to equivalent hospital-based care, leading to better overall recovery and significantly reduced readmission rates to hospital. Not only do virtual wards eliminate the risk of hospital acquired infections, but being at home promotes better sleep, nutrition and activity to reduce hospital acquired degeneration. It also reduces the impact on mental health, which is particularly relevant to patients with dementia who suffer significant stress and decline from hospitalisation.”
Virtue provides two essential care pathways: one for urgent acute medical needs, that serves as an alternative to NHS hospital admission (noting that in the UK, many private hospitals do not offer urgent acute medical care); and another for the ongoing management of long-term conditions, affecting around 50% of the adult population.[ix] Given that most private medical insurance plans do not cover chronic conditions,[x] Virtue’s long-term condition management service fills this gap by offering high-quality, proactive care at home throughout the year, at an affordable price. These transformational offerings address significant and critical gaps in the UK's healthcare system.
Aida Yousefi, Virtue Non-Executive Director, Chair of Advisory Board and former-chief executive of HCA’s Harley Street Clinic and The Portland Hospital for Women & Children in London comments: “The launch of Virtue comes at a critical moment for the UK healthcare system, offering a lifeline through provision of at-home specialist care and expanded bed capacity. By bringing expert medical support into patients’ homes, without delay, it is hoped that with this fast-track service to specialist care, Virtue will provide much-needed relief for both the healthcare system and those who rely on it.”
[i] Royal College of Nursing: On the Frontline of the UK’s Corridor Care Crisis Report, January 2025. Available at: Corridor care crisis | Publications | Royal College of Nursing
[ii] The King’s Fund responds to £250 million for beds ahead of winter. The King‘s Fund, August 2023. Available at: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/press-releases/million-for-beds-winter
[iii] Independent investigation of the NHS in England: Lord Darzi's report on the state of the National Health Service in England, September 2024. Available at: Independent investigation of the NHS in England - GOV.UK
[iv] The Health Foundation: REAL Centre Projections: General and acute hospital beds in England (2018–2030), May 2024 update. Available at: https://www.health.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-05/beds_analysis_update_may2024.pdf
[v] Policy Paper: New Hospital Programme: Plan for Implementation: Foreword, January 2025. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-hospital-programme-review-outcome/new-hospital-programme-plan-for-implementation
[vi] NHS England: 2024. Available at: NHS England » NHS delivers 10,000 virtual ward beds target with hundreds of thousands of patients treated at home
[vii] NHS England: Rapid Evaluation Report, September 2023. Available at: NHS England » Rapid evaluation report: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease virtual ward enabled by technology – South and West Hertfordshire Health and Care Partnership
[viii] Linea: The Virtual Revolution: Measuring the Impact of Virtual Wards. Available at: Virtual Wards: How They Work and Why They Matter | Linea (last accessed February 2025)
[ix]Office of National Statistics, UK: Census 2021. Available at; UK health indicators - Office for National Statistics (last accessed February 2025)
x Association of British Insurers (ABI). Private Medical Insurance. Available at: https://www.abi.org.uk/products-and-issues/choosing-the-right-insurance/health-insurance/private-medical-insurance
