A new voice therapy app is reportedly helping to improve outcomes for patients with Parkinson’s Disease at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton.
The University Hospitals of Derby and Burton Speech Therapy Parkinson’s team, based out of Florence Nightingale Community Hospital, has introduced the app to support patients in accessing care and therapy from home, aiming to avoid unnecessary trips to hospital, improve patient experience, and reduce waiting lists by allowing clinicians to “see more people in the same amount of time”.
After an initial in-person assessment during which patients are guided on downloading and using the app from their chosen device, exercises are prescribed to be completed at home, before a four-week review and reassessment in clinic. Caroline Bartliff, a specialist speech and language therapist with the Parkinson’s team, explained how a pilot of the app saved on average 14 – 17 hours per month of clinical time, equating to six therapy slots a week.
A patient story shared by the trust demonstrates the difference the technology is making to Parkinson’s patients, supporting them in maintaining telephone communication with family members. The team’s work has also been recognised by Stephen Posey, chief executive at UHDB, who presented the team with a Making a Difference Award.
“This team is leading the way with its innovative approach, which puts patient experience at its forefront,” he said. “It is right that we look at how digital tools and advancements can support us to deliver better-quality, person-centred care – and this is an excellent example of that in action.”
Wider trend: Patient-facing tech
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust has reported on findings from a 100-day improvement challenge with the trust’s Talking Therapies service and NHS Impact, which looked to help those aged 65 and over gain confidence with using online tools and digitally enabled therapies. More than 240 people took part in the survey, with 96 percent stating that they used technology such as a phone, tablet, or laptop at home. Rebecca Morley, team manager and lead, shared: “We wanted to know what was preventing people from using the internet to access digitally enabled therapies at home…Key recurring themes in the results showed that older adults were worried that online therapy is less personal and several people were unaware that online face‑to‑face therapy is available.”
The digital eye care programme is continuing to be rolled out across Wales, with the Welsh Government issuing an update on its current status by health board for the OpenEyes national EPR and OPERAi national electronic referral system for eye care. All health boards have now implemented both systems either in full or in part, the government states, promoting real-time sharing of clinical information, along with consistency in national referral and triage processes.
Augmented reality technology is being used at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to help patients and clinicians visualise women’s health conditions such as endometriosis and prepare for surgical excision. The technology offers a large-scale, close-up view of anatomically precise 3D models, aiding clinicians in explaining diagnoses or disease progression to patients, and improving understanding of complex women’s health conditions like deep infiltrating endometriosis and uterine fibroids. Clinicians are able to interact with the model from their computer, enlarging specific regions to show disease impact, and illustrating precisely where areas of endometriosis will be excised during surgery.
