Leeds, Harrogate care homes pilot telehealth system for residents (UK)

[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Sunnyside.jpg” thumb_width=”175″ /]The Sunnyside Care Home in Crossgates is the first of 14 local care homes in Leeds and Harrogate with a telehealth remote telemonitoring program for residents. The pilot that started before Christmas is sponsored by NHS England’s West Yorkshire and Harrogate Acceleration Zone as part of their £8m initiative to improve urgent and emergency care.

The Yorkshire Evening Post profiles one of the residents, Mavis Robinson, who has motor neurone disease (MND). She was helped over the festive (US=holiday) season when her condition began to decline based on her vital signs monitoring which appears to be administered by staff. They were then able to obtain medication for pain before the situation escalated. Ms Robinson can discuss her health with the nurse based on the telehealth information. Telehealth information was also used to involve a family member in care for a patient nearing the end of their life. Unfortunately this Editor has been unable to determine what system is being used in the pilot. (Can one of our Readers enlighten us?–Ed.) Based on the closing quote from Sue Robins of NHS Leeds West CCG, it’s also an example of the NHS local strategy mentioned in The King’s Fund blog [TTA 17 Feb] for local areas to pilot and share the knowledge.