Hi-tech health investment to benefit patients

Health chiefs in North Yorkshire yesterday unveiled massive investment worth 3.2m in the venture which will see 2,000 telehealth systems provided in the county to support patients in their own homes.

The technology allows clinicians to monitor remotely patients' vital signs including temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose and oxygen levels which are sent to a central monitoring centre.

Experts can quickly react if any abnormalities emerge, enabling health teams to prevent a patients' conditions worsening.

The approach is not only better for patients but in the long run will also reduce NHS costs by reducing unnecessary admissions to hospital and allowing patients to leave hospital more quickly.

The technology has been available for a number of years but health chiefs across the country are taking increasing interest in it as they seek to cut expensive hospital care, which costs as much as 1,800 each time a patient is admitted with breathing problems, and instead provide more care closer to home.

People in North Yorkshire are less likely to suffer from long-term illness than in other parts of the country.

However, figures show the county does have high levels of hospital admissions for people with chronic conditions.

In 2008-9, more than 6,000 needed hospital treatment for breathing or heart problems.

The huge expansion of the technology developed by Tunstall Healthcare, based in Whitley Bridge, near Selby, follows an eight-month trial of the approach among patients in York, Selby, Whitby and other parts of the county.

David Cockayne, of NHS North Yorkshire and York, said he hoped it would make a "huge difference" to patients with breathing problems, heart disease and diabetes.

"As outlined in our recently published five-year strategy, we are committed to providing care closer to home and improving the quality of life for patients living with a long-term health condition," he said.

Rosie Walker Smith, a case manager working in the Hambleton and Richmondshire area, said: "Feedback from patients already using telehealth has been overwhelmingly positive.

"Not only does it reduce the risk of their condition deteriorating to the point they need hospital treatment, but also gives them the peace of mind that their condition is being monitored."

Using telehealth involves installing a small, portable electronic unit, roughly the size of a telephone, in a patient's home connected to the telephone line.

It is programmed to take readings on a daily basis which are sent automatically to a monitoring centre.

If any abnormalities are flagged in the system, clinicians are alerted and the patient is contacted.

North Yorkshire County Council saved more than 1m on residential care costs – equivalent to a 38 per cent reduction per person – in the first year of using telecare for its clients.

Electronic checking 'changed my life'

PAULINE WAITE was diagnosed with emphysema seven years ago.

Even simple activities such as carrying shopping bags became a struggle and, last October, the 56-year-old from York was admitted to hospital with pneumonia.

"I felt like I was the only person in the world suffering from emphysema," she said. "I used to panic if I felt ill."

Initially, she was sceptical about telehealth but now sees it as a "godsend". It is easy to use and has also given her greater confidence.

"At the moment it takes my blood pressure, oxygen levels and temperature once a day at 10am which only takes five minutes out of my day. If there are any abnormal readings it alerts the clinic and I get a phone call from a nurse at York Hospital the same day," she said. "It saved me an admission to hospital between Christmas and New Year, when there was an abnormal reading on Boxing Day and the following two days.

"It also gives me a sense of reassurance to know somebody is keeping a check on me everyday. If I don't feel quite right I can take measurements at any time in the day and the majority of the time everything is okay.

"Before the device was fitted I would worry my blood pressure was too high and whether my body could cope with the things I had to do that day. Now I feel I have the confidence to get on with my daily activities without the thought constantly being at the back of my mind.

"It's literally changed my life."