DAPB4073: Virtual Wards
Virtual wards (also known as hospital at home) allow patients to get the care they need at home safely and conveniently, rather than being in hospital. The NHS is increasingly introducing virtual wards to support people at the place they call home, including care homes.
A new patient level minimum data set for Virtual Wards which can be collected daily. The data set collects data on Virtual Ward service provision, capacity, utilisation and basic operational data flows of patients through the services. Data will be collected via Secure and Local Federated Data Platform (FDP) tenants.
Virtual Wards feature in the 10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future as a key component of the shift to neighbourhood care.
Publication: Mandated data set and data collection
| Scope | NHS Organisations, Community Interest Companies, Provider Organisations - including GP Federations |
| Type | Collection |
| Schedule of collection/ submission | Daily |
| Responsible authority | Data Assurance Board |
| Date of approval | 21 January 2026 |
| Publication date | 4 February 2026 |
| Release name | Amd 49-2025 |
| Release number | 1 |
| Status/stage | Beta |
| Implementation date | 2 February 2026 |
| Full conformance date | 30 September 2026 |
| End date of assurance | 31 January 2027 |
| Legislation | Pending |
| Key documents | |
| Further information | |
| Contact details |
For queries regarding submissions contact [email protected] For technical queries regarding the Federated Data Platform contact [email protected] |
Last edited: 4 February 2026 2:12 pm