Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB has shared impacts from remote technologies including an app to recognise pain in care home residents, a remote monitoring toolkit, and a digital tool using wireless sensors to measure gait and mobility in people at risk of falls.
The ICB’s Digitising Social Care programme has seen the introduction of over 1,200 PainChek™ licences across 26 care locations as part of a study set to run to March 2026. Rebecca Ward, registered manager of the Danecroft care home, noted how the solution helps identify residents who may be in pain, but who struggle to let staff know. “PainChek™ supports our decision-making, so we’re not having to guess whether they’re in pain or not,” she said.
The solution has been set up to work on devices and smartphones, with staff undergoing training on its use. Residents are now assessed for pain at least once per week, with those on “when-required” painkillers monitored several times per day, the ICB states. BLMK is now working with Health Innovation East and the University of Hertfordshire to assess usability, cost-effectiveness, and overall impact.
The ICB has similarly been testing the use of remote monitoring toolkits to help empower care staff to make data-led healthcare decisions. The Whzan Blue Box offers equipment to measure vital signs including heart rate, blood oxygen levels, temperature, and blood pressure, working out a National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) to alert to deterioration. Following initial rollout in 2021, funding from NHSE’s Digital Transformation Fund enabled the project to be scaled up to support 1,800 residents in 123 care locations.
“While the 12-month scale up project was unable to fully demonstrate the planned benefits and impacts due to the lack of robust data as a result of inconsistent usage within the smaller scale-up cohort, the findings from anecdotal and survey feedback suggest good potential,” BLMK reports. These findings include an increase in the number of vital signs and NEWS2 score recordings across the cohort.
An AI-driven digital tool is also being evaluated across four sites in BLMK to see if it can help improve mobility and balance for people at risk of falls. The GaitSmart tool uses wireless sensors to monitor individual’s movements as they walk, comparing readings to “healthy” gait profiles and offering suggestions on interventions or exercises to improve balance and stability.
The 15-month pilot was funded by NHSE, with the tool being used in primary, secondary, and community care settings, and with Health Innovation East commissioned to evaluate uptake, clinical outcomes, and user experience. “Participants typically completed four tests over 12 weeks, allowing progress to be monitored and exercise plans adjusted,” the ICB shares. “272 individuals completed the first test, of which 184 were able to complete the four-test protocol within the evaluation period. Of these 98 completed the fourth during the evaluation period.”
90 percent of patients “improved in at least one measure”, according to findings, with 48 percent making improvements in all four outcomes measured. 76 percent reported having seen “some or significant” improvement to their mobility. Although feedback from staff varied across different settings, 50 percent agreed the use of the tool should continue, and a further 25 percent “neither agreed not disagreed” with its continued use. Several sites will reportedly continue to use the tool until at least March 2026.
Wider trend: The role of tech in supporting safer and more effective care
For a HTN Now discussion on building safer care and embedding clinical safety into digital pathways, we were joined by a panel including Corrina Hulkes, associate CNIO at Health Systems Support Ltd; Peter Hansell, CEO and co-founder at Isla Health; Victoria Mustafa, regional quality, safety and digital lead for London at NHS England; and Ruth North, clinical safety officer at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. Panellists offered their insights on how digital pathways can be designed with safety at their core, exploring practical strategies, tools, and best practices for embedding clinical safety into digital care models to improve outcomes and build trust.
A patient engagement portal developed by a team in-house at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay has reportedly saved close to £3 million, UHMB has shared. The portal is now utilised across Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, including Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Its patient engagement portal+ (PEP+) was created by the trust’s Information, Informatics and Innovation (I3) Digital Services Team to offer patients access to their information, provide greater control over appointments, and improve preparation for appointments with digital questionnaires.
The Welsh Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing has shared an update on the NHS Wales App, its use and plans for upcoming features, including test results, patient-reported outcomes, and an “about me” section for patients to share information they would like health professionals to know about them. Since the beta launch in April 2023, the App has been downloaded by more than half a million people; equivalent to one in five adults in Wales, and with more than nine million log-ins. Current functionality covers repeat prescriptions, booking for “some” primary care appointments, viewable health records, secure messaging, organ donation choices, and accessibility to NHS services such as 111 and screening.
