80% of all NHS costs and 60% of NHS activity is directly linked to the management of long term conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure (CHF). There is an urgent need to look at alternative models of care that will lessen the burden on primary and acute care providers and ensure NHS resources are used efficiently. Telehealth is crucial to the effective management of these conditions by reducing the burden on NHS resources and improving the quality of life for patients.
At this year's Managing Long Term Conditions conference, Tunstall is demonstrating how its telehealth solutions are being successfully used by NHS Trusts to deliver timely, preventative care to its patients. Tunstall's Genesis DM monitors are used to remotely monitor a patient's vital signs including weight, heart rate, oxygen saturation levels, blood pressure and glucose. The monitors can also be programmed to ask the patient a series of medical questions specific to their condition, to help clinicians to further determine their current condition. NHS staff can then prioritise visits, ensuring effective use of healthcare resources, while patients benefit from an improved quality of life and increased independence.
Sheffield Primary Care Trust won the 2008 regional finals of the NHS Health and Social Care Awards as a result of its deployment of telehealth to tackle the issue of COPD and provide more community-based care. Sheffield's innovative approach to managing the condition saw COPD-related hospital admissions decrease by 50%, saving the PCT between £30,000 to £40,000. Home visits by community COPD nurses were also reduced by 80%, cutting travel costs and enabling healthcare staff to prioritise their workload.
This year Nottingham City Primary Care Trust launched one of the UK's largest mainstream deployments of telehealth to dramatically reduce the 22,000 hospital admissions and the GP visits associated with long term conditions. The PCT is using Genesis DM monitors to support around 800 people a year with COPD and CHF. This approach supports independent living for patients and it educates them to be more aware of their symptoms and to proactively manage them, reducing the need for repeat hospital admissions.
Swindon PCT and Wolverhampton PCT also won their regional finals in the Innovative Health and Social Technology category of the NHS Health and Social Care Awards for their deployments of telehealth monitoring.
Matthew Marshall, Health Director of Tunstall said: "The clear success of mainstream deployments across the UK demonstrates how telehealth can be used to provide more preventative, community-based care for people with long term chronic conditions, freeing up valuable healthcare resources within the NHS."
At the Managing Long Term Conditions conference on May 1st in Harrogate, Tunstall will demonstrate their award-winning Genesis DM telehealth monitor, which is benefiting several PCTs and hundreds of patients across the country.
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About Tunstall
Tunstall is the market leading provider of telecare and telehealth solutions, with over 2.5 million users globally. Tunstall's solutions support older people and those with long-term needs, to live independently, by effectively managing their health and well-being. Tunstall provides technology, expertise and advice to millions of people enabling them to lead independent more fulfilling lives. For more information on how telecare and telehealth can improve quality of life, visit www.tunstall.co.uk.