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A virtual ward is a means providing support in the community to people with the most complex medical and social needs. The concept was developed in Croydon Primary Care Trust – and virtual wards have been introduced in Croydon, Dorset, Dudley, Brent, Hillingdon, Bracknell and Nottinghamshire. Virtual wards use the systems and staffing of a hospital ward, but without the physical building: they provide preventative care for people in their own homes. The project won in four categories of the 2006 Health Service Journal Awards namely Primary Care Innovation, Patient-Centred Care, Information-Based Decision Making, and Clinical Service Redesign. This was the first time in the 25-year history of the HSJ awards that a project won in four categories. In 2007 it won the Transformation category of the Public Service Awards run by The Guardian and was judged overall winner of those awards.