Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is trialling a frailty virtual care programme, utilising tech to remotely monitor patients with long-term conditions in their own homes with the hopes of identifying early warning signs to prevent the need for more intensive support.
Using the Graphnet Docobo platform to monitor patients remotely, the programme is a partnership initiative between Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, FedBucks, and BOB ICB. Although similar remote monitoring is in place via the trust’s Hospital at Home service, the new pilot offers longer-term non-acute support directed at avoiding frequent hospital visits and supporting patients in staying independent.
The trial will see 200 patients invited to join based on clinical criteria, who will be monitored over a 12-month period using equipment including a pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuff and thermometer. A dedicated app will also collect patient-reported data on a series of wellbeing questions. A GP will then review the data collected to assess any required clinical actions.
Jenny Ricketts, chief nurse, spoke of the trust’s excitement at the potential benefits the trial can offer for patients, pointing to results from neighbouring trusts. “When comparing patients participating in such a programme with patients who are not, data from other trusts has shown a reduction in A&E attendance by 38.6 percent, a 53.7 percent reduction in hospital admissions and a reduction of 36.3 percent in 999 calls,” she said. “So, in terms of the benefits to our patients and the potential reduction in unplanned hospital attendances, this trial could make a very positive difference to how the future of healthcare is delivered in Buckinghamshire.”
Wider trend: Virtual care in practice
For a recent HTN Now webinar on the topic of virtual wards in practice, we were joined by a panel of experts including Francesca Markland, senior programme manager for remote monitoring and virtual wards at NHS England; Fhezan Ashraf, senior pharmacist clinical configuration manager at The Dudley Group; and Abigail Scullion, virtual ward manager at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. Our panel tackled a range of questions and key debates in the virtual wards space, sharing insights on their own approaches, experiences and learnings.
The Prime Minister’s Office shared details at the beginning of the year on the Elective Reform Plan, “a whole system approach to hitting the 18-week referral to treatment target” focusing on expanded use of CDCs and surgical hubs, along with the NHS app, remote monitoring, and technologies such as AI.
The Royal London Hospital recently highlighted the impact of the use of a virtual platform for its children’s cancer ward, reportedly enabling children deemed well enough to be monitored from home. Whilst at home, patients are monitored using equipment which records their observations every four hours, with data “continuously monitored by the clinical nurse specialist team who stay in touch with the parents and can escalate concerns when necessary”.
