WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS
Adapting
Before the technology is installed in a pa- tient’s home, the relevant healthcare pro- fessionals are provided with the patients’ diagnosis, past medical history and current medication. A monitor is then allocated to the patient and their personal monitoring information is downloaded onto it.
Each morning at a set time, the patient re- cords a number of vital signs. They are also asked a series of simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions relating to their condition. Once these have been inputted, the data is transmitted down the patient’s phone line to a secure server.
Initially, some patients recorded low oxygen saturation levels, because they would rush to the machine rather than relaxing. Nurses, too, had some issues; some felt it was an ex- tra burden on their busy workload.
But Chapman said: “This has been over- come and they can now see the real ben- efits for patients and themselves of using the equipment.”
On the frontline
NHS Sheffield community matron Sa- rah McCarthy said: “Keeping track of any
changes in symptoms is essential for the healthcare teams to help them prevent a worsening of conditions.
“Many of the patients on my case load have multiple long-term conditions, in particu- lar COPD and heart failure.
“Having the telehealth monitors enables me to keep a close watch on them and in- dicates if their condition changes. One of my patients with heart failure, for instance, regularly forgets to take her medication. The first sign of this is that her ankles may swell and her weight might increase. The telehealth monitor enables me to monitor these fluctuations in her symptoms.
“Thanks to the repetitive process, even those with very little technology knowledge soon find they can easily complete the daily monitoring routine. It gives them a sense of security about their condition to know that someone will be alerted if they are feeling unwell.
“The use of telehealth has also allowed the nurses to become more proactive in visit- ing patients and intervene when a patient’s status changes and avoid a hospital admis- sion. In turn, this releases clinical time to care for other patients. I’m aware of at
least one instance where, as a result of tel- ehealth, the number of times a patient has been asked to attend a hospital outpatient appointment has been reduced by their consultant.”
She said the technology “came into its own” during the snow in late 2010, as health workers could monitor patients without needing to physically get to all of them, which could have been impossible because of the travelling conditions.
“Telehealth,” McCarthy concludes, “has definitely cut down on the amount of vis- its that we have to do and better enabled us to plan our workload. This also helps to reduce associated costs such as our time and mileage.”
NHS Sheffield is now investigating using telehealth technology for its specialist team of heart failure nurses.
Chapman concluded: “The technology is advancing all the time and patients are be- coming more receptive to it. In my view it should now be considered when developing any patient pathway or service.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit
www.sheffield.nhs.uk
Aid Call explains more about its integrated wireless healthcare systems. A
local care home that provides 24-hour hospice care wanted to improve staff
efficiency and integrate building communi- cations into a single system. This required the functions of the existing telephone, nurse call system, building security and fire alarm systems to be linked together.
The existing telephone system was ten years old and lacked functionality. The same was true of the existing nurse call system, which was inflexible with poor battery life and had limited support in the event of failure.
Having invited tenders through a procure- ment framework, the specification required the supplier to proactively adopt the best use of modern technology and particularly wanted to make use of special features, in- cluding automated attendant, voicemail, hunt groups and call line identify, as well as integrating the nurse call and fire alarm sys- tems. However, they did not want a system that was complicated to use.
The desired solution, although technically
complex, was designed to offer a cost effec- tive, easy to install and to maintain system which, operationally, was easy to use for both staff and patients.
The Aid Call Touchsafe wireless nurse call was chosen as it gave patients an easy-to- use, safety compliant call system to summon assistance. The solution provides true reas- surance to the user, as it informs them that their call has been securely received, using the unique two-way call point transmissions.
The nurse call system comprised of a bed- side pear push points and bathroom pull cords which alerts staff for assistance. With a centrally placed display panel and full alpha- numeric screen, it shows room/location and residents’ names so that staff can clearly see who is calling for assistance. The panel also provides staff with an on-screen mapping facility, medical reminders and a full audit trail of all systems activations and events.
The flexible nature of the wireless nurse call system allowed complete integration
with the telephone solution and portable DECT (digital enhanced cordless telecom- munications) handsets. This enabled staff to receive alarm notifications wherever they were working within the hospice. The inte- grated design of the system meant that staff could go directly to the patient’s room rather than having to detour to the nurses’ station, improving their effectiveness and patient re- sponse. Because of their integration with the building fire alarm systems, both the nurse call system and the DECT handsets provide staff with a vital safety notification facility.
The client is delighted with the solution, as it met their specific requirements, transform- ing the way communications are managed for both patients and staff. It has provided them with a highly functional integrated sys- tem that is easy to use and maintain whilst providing them with a scalable platform that they can build on in the future.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
T: 0800 052 3616 W:
www.aidcall.co.uk
national health executive May/Jun 11 | 41
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