Approximately 15 million people in the UK have a long term condition and their management is one of the greatest challenges facing the NHS today. Halton & St Helens Primary Care Trust in Widnes conducted a 12-month pilot to evaluate the benefits of embedding telehealth within its care pathways for people with long term conditions.

A total of 60 telehealth packages were commissioned from Tunstall Healthcare and offered to patients from three chronic disease areas – heart failure, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and stroke.

Telehealth systems are set up in the individual’s home and patients are given training on how to use the mymedic unit and associated peripherals to monitor their vital signs and symptoms. Each day, patients take their own blood pressure, oxygen levels, weight and temperature, and answer a series of health-related questions. This information is automatically transmitted in real time down the phone line, via the mymedic unit, to Sefton Careline’s monitoring centre. Here, operators use a triage software platform to view and manage the data received and arrange the approbate level of care.

"By deploying the telehealth system for community-based care we are empowering patients, reducing anxiety, promoting independence and so improving overall quality of life. Telehealth also educates patients to be aware of their symptoms, to manage them, reducing part of the burden on healthcare providers."

Mike Ore, Head of Service Delivery, Community Health Services