A HOSPICE in the grounds of Ealing Hospital is using virtual reality technology to help its patients manage anxiety and pain.

Meadow House, a day hospice and 15-bed in-patient unit, has been trialling the headsets for the past month.

Specialist nurse Jennifer Draper says the 10 seven-minute VR experiences, including outer space, underwater and wildlife adventures, are popular with patients.

“It is primarily a distraction tool to help manage pain and has come from America where it has had widespread use in tackling the opioid epidemic,” she said.

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“It has a different use here, but the distraction technique is still the same as many of our patients live with pain, despite medication. It relieves anxiety and aids relaxation and breathing.”

Patient Joy Pilgrim said: “I’ve been into space today, walked with penguins in the Arctic and seen the Great Wall of China and the Egyptian Pyramids.

“I’ve never experienced virtual reality before and it just blew me away.”

Virtual reality already has several uses in medicine, including patients being taken through their surgical procedure with a 360deg VR reconstruction of their anatomy.