CareAnywhere 2026: The NHS Virtual Wards to Virtual Hospitals Strategy Conference
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CareAnywhere 2026: The NHS Virtual Wards to Virtual Hospitals Strategy Conference
Current Landscape and Challenges:
Virtual care is rapidly evolving from targeted innovation programmes into a foundational component of NHS service delivery. Virtual wards, hospital at home, remote monitoring and digitally enabled outpatient pathways are now recognised as critical tools for improving patient flow, managing hospital capacity and delivering care closer to home.
Over the past three years, the NHS has expanded virtual ward capacity significantly, with more than 12,500 virtual ward beds operational across England. However, the focus of national policy is now shifting from expansion targets toward sustainability, clinical outcomes and integration into routine care pathways.
Alongside virtual wards, NHS organisations are increasingly developing virtual hospital models, enabling specialist teams to deliver acute-level care remotely through digital monitoring, multidisciplinary teams and coordinated community services.
Looking ahead, the NHS is preparing for a broader phase of digitally enabled care delivery, including the development of NHS Online services expected from 2027, designed to expand digital access to clinical care, remote consultations and integrated monitoring across pathways.
Despite strong policy support and rapid growth, many NHS organisations are now facing the practical challenges of embedding virtual care into everyday operations.
Key challenges include:
- Integrating remote monitoring data into existing EPR and community systems.
- Developing safe escalation pathways between home, community and hospital teams.
- Ensuring workforce confidence and capability in hybrid care delivery models.
- Designing clinically safe virtual hospital models for higher acuity patients.
- Demonstrating measurable impact on admissions avoidance, length of stay and patient outcomes.
- Addressing digital inclusion and equitable access to remote care services.
As virtual wards evolve into broader virtual care systems, NHS leaders must now move from implementation to optimisation, governance and long-term service sustainability.
Summit Focus:
CareAnywhere 2026 brings together NHS leaders delivering virtual wards, hospital at home services and digitally enabled care pathways to explore how virtual care can become a sustainable and integrated component of NHS service delivery.
Building on recent operational guidance and national evaluation activity, the summit focuses on the practical realities of running safe, scalable virtual care services, including governance frameworks, workforce models, interoperability and pathway design.
The conference is designed to move beyond policy discussion and into practical delivery, giving delegates the opportunity to explore tested service models, digital enablers and workforce frameworks already supporting virtual care across NHS systems.
Through skill clinics, deep dives and peer learning sessions, attendees will gain actionable insights into how organisations are successfully embedding virtual care across acute, community and primary care settings.
Learning Outcomes & Key Takeaways:
- How to design integrated virtual care pathways across hospital, community and home settings.
- How to transition from virtual ward pilots to sustainable virtual hospital models.
- How to operationalise interoperability between remote monitoring platforms, EPRs and community systems.
- How to build workforce capability and confidence in hybrid clinical environments.
- How to embed governance, clinical safety and escalation frameworks within virtual care delivery.
- How to measure outcomes, productivity and patient experience in digitally enabled care pathways.
- How to ensure virtual care services remain inclusive and accessible across diverse patient populations.
Why Attend:
- Earn 8 CPD Points by attending
- Build professional confidence in delivering hybrid models of care.
- Learn directly from NHS leaders implementing virtual care at scale.
- Access practical frameworks for governance, workforce readiness and digital integration.
- Understand how virtual care fits within wider NHS transformation priorities.
- Take away implementation tools and service design insights for local deployment.
- Join a growing NHS community shaping the future of virtual healthcare delivery.
Sponsors & Partners
Your Pass Includes....
- This conference is CPD accredited. Attendees will be eligible to gain 8 CPD points upon completion of the event.
- Access to a leading conference speaker programme
- Interactive Q&A sessions
- Leadership Lessons from the Front Line
- Cross-sector best practice
- Meet the supplier opportunities
- Hot breakfast & Lunch included
- Access to post event drinks reception and Street food
Tickets For NHS Senior Managers
We have an invite only option for NHS Senior Managers for our conference, to see if you qualify for a complimentary place please click the button below.
Event Speakers
Gurnak Singh
Dosanjh
Deputy CCIO | Digital Healthcare Consultant | CSO | ICB Clinical Lead
NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
Read biographyThe programme
Registration & Networking
Registration - Open from 8:20 am - Closes at 11:00 am
All delegates must complete their registration process before the 11:00 AM cut-off time. Please arrive in a timely manner to allow for registration and to avoid any inconvenience. Delegates who arrive after the registration deadline will be refused entry to the event.
We appreciate your cooperation in helping us maintain the event's schedule and ensuring that everyone can fully participate in the conference. If you have any questions or require assistance, our event staff will be available to assist you with the registration process.
Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to an insightful and productive event together!
Keynote Presentation - From Virtual Wards to Virtual Health Systems: Delivering the NHS 10-Year Vision for Digitally Enabled Care (TBC)
Session Overview:
This opening keynote will set the strategic direction for virtual care in the NHS, exploring how virtual wards, hospital at home models and remote monitoring are evolving into integrated virtual care systems. The session will examine how the NHS can transition from rapid expansion of virtual ward capacity to sustainable, outcome-driven service models that support patient flow, reduce hospital admissions and deliver care closer to home.
Key themes will include:
- The role of virtual care in delivering the NHS long-term transformation agenda.
- Moving from pilot programmes to system-wide virtual hospital models.
- Embedding remote monitoring and digital pathways into routine care.
- Ensuring digital services support safe, equitable and patient-centred care.
Morning Skill Clinic - Designing Safe and Scalable Virtual Care Pathways (TBC)
Session Overview:
This practical session will provide NHS teams with tools for designing and implementing virtual care pathways that integrate acute, community and primary care services.
Participants will explore:
- How to design clinically safe admission and discharge criteria for virtual wards.
- Building escalation pathways between home monitoring, community teams and hospitals.
- Selecting appropriate patient cohorts for remote care delivery.
- Creating multidisciplinary virtual care teams.
Main Sponsor
Main Sponsor
Case Study - Doccla
Case Study - Doccla
About us:
Doccla is a leading provider of virtual ward and remote patient monitoring services, supporting over 50 NHS organisations. Our comprehensive solution enhances clinical capacity, reduces hospital admissions, and improves patient outcomes. With CQC accreditation, seamless NHS system integration, and proven cost savings, Doccla offers a scalable, end-to-end service that optimises healthcare delivery.
Case Study - Ortus-iHealth
Case Study - Ortus-iHealth
Our mission is simple: to inform and reduce clinician decision making and workload, keep patients engaged and informed and to centralise health data to facilitate patient, condition and population wide data-driven decisions.
Our digital platform enables the digitisation of outpatient care pathways. Through one unified solution, healthcare professionals can deliver personalised and remote care, using digital consent tools, remote patient monitoring, configurable virtual wards, customisable pathway dashboards, PROMs, PREMS, and vitals measuring software. Ortus-iHealth patient-facing app empowers and enables patients
Scaling NHS Virtual Wards - From Surgery to Home-Based Monitoring (Provisionally Confirmed)
Session Overview:
In this interview session, we will discuss how Virtual Wards are being scaled across multiple specialties and integrated into everyday clinical practice. The conversation will explore the use of virtual wards within surgical pathways, where patients can have their procedure in the morning and be discharged home the same day with ongoing virtual ward support. The session will also examine the introduction of remote monitoring technologies, such as ECG devices that patients take home, enabling continuous clinical oversight from the comfort of their own homes. Through practical examples and insights, this interview will highlight how virtual wards are reshaping care delivery and improving patient experience across the NHS.
Speaker: Andy Bailey, Virtual Ward Operations Manager, Cambridge University NHS FT(Provisionally Confirmed)
Case Study
Case Study
Case Study
Case Study
NHS Deep Dive - Scaling Virtual Wards: From National Targets to Sustainable Services (TBC)
Session Overview:
This case-based deep dive will explore how NHS systems are transitioning from meeting virtual ward bed targets to delivering sustainable and clinically effective services.
Key insights will include:
- Operational models for managing large virtual ward programmes.
- Integrating virtual ward workflows into existing hospital operations.
- Demonstrating impact on admissions avoidance and length of stay.
- Governance and safety frameworks for remote acute care.
Case Study
Case Study
NHS Deep Dive - Building the Virtual Hospital: Integrating Remote Monitoring, Community Teams and Digital Platforms (TBC)
Session Overview:
This session will explore how organisations are developing virtual hospital models capable of delivering higher acuity care in the home.
Discussion points will include:
- Integrating remote monitoring data with EPR and community systems.
- Coordinating multidisciplinary teams across acute and community care.
- Technology platforms enabling real-time patient oversight.
- Designing pathways for complex and higher-risk patients.
Afternoon Skill Clinic - Operationalising Virtual Care: Interoperability, Data and Outcomes Measurement (TBC)
Session Overview:
This interactive workshop will focus on the practical digital infrastructure required to support virtual care services.
Key learning areas:
- Integrating remote monitoring platforms with NHS EPR systems.
- Creating data dashboards for virtual ward performance and safety.
- Measuring clinical outcomes, patient experience and productivity.
- Ensuring digital inclusion and equitable access to virtual care.
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