BBC News | Philippa Roxby
First thing in the morning,
Terry Munro always puts the kettle on. "Then I take my blood sugar, take
my blood pressure and my weight and in that time the kettle's boiled. "And
I've got a record of it on my TV. It's marvellous, it really is." Terry, who is 67 years old and
has diabetes, has been keeping tabs on his own health using nothing more than
his television.
The testing equipment uses
Bluetooth so when Terry has taken his daily measurements they are automatically
uploaded to the TV. A trained nurse can access and
monitor the readings from a central location and make decisions about potential
changes in treatments.
The testing equipment uses
Bluetooth so when Terry has taken his daily measurements they are automatically
uploaded to the TV. A trained nurse can access and
monitor the readings from a central location and make decisions about potential
changes in treatments.
"I like walking, but I
used to go out and go hypo. Now I know I can't go out if my blood sugar is too
low, so I am more aware now. "It's like having a doctor
there all the time."
Terry is one of more than
3,000 people with diabetes, heart failure or COPD (a serious lung disease
called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) who took part in a recent
two-year trial of telehealth technology for monitoring people who are
chronically ill.
The trial focused on patients
in Kent, Cornwall and the London Borough of Newham.
Yvonne Fenn, lead nurse for
telehealth at East London NHS Foundation Trust in Newham, says patients like
Terry are constantly being watched by nurses, albeit at a distance. Any unusual readings entered
onto the TV are picked up straight away. "Any abnormal readings
prompt a visit by a senior nurse or we can alert the patient's GP or find the
answers by calling them up. "For example, a patient
with COPD may have an increase in pulse rate and that could prompt us to start
them on a course of antibiotics earlier than would have been possible
otherwise.
"We can see the signs of
a problem before the patient even notices."
The idea is that this removes
the need for the patient to attend a clinic or hospital appointment, saving
everyone time and money. Telehealth works particularly
well for people with health conditions like diabetes, heart failure, COPD,
arthritis and depression.
According to the results of
the trial, published by the
Department of Health, telehealth can reduce
mortality, reduce the need for admissions to hospital, lower the number of days
spent in a hospital bed and cut the time spent in A&E.
Yvonne Fenn said the effects
of telehealth are educational too.
"It helps patients
understand their disease better. They become more expert.
This technology doesn't
replace face-to-face visits. We are actually contacting them more regularly but
just in a different way”
Dave Tyas Peninsula Community
Health
"When they used to go for
hospital check-ups, information leaflets were often put in the bin, but because
telehealth gives daily readings, these help to educate the patient and they
stabilise more readily."
But telehealth does not always
require a TV.
In Cornwall, patients in the
trial used a little monitor the size of their palm which works using wireless
technology. On the Isles of Scilly, off
Cornwall, the technology means that patients in remote communities can be
monitored closely without having to travel long distances to see their GP.
Dave Tyas, telehealth manager
for Peninsula Community Health in Cornwall, believes there are all sorts of
potential uses for the technology. He has already started to tailor the
technology for people at risk of urinary tract infections and at risk of
falling at home.
"It's about bringing care
closer to home," he says.
"It's evolving all the
time, and we are continually evaluating things. But it's important to focus on
what works. It has to benefit the individual."
But don't patients miss
personal contact with their GP or specialist?
"This technology doesn't
replace face-to-face visits. We are actually contacting them more regularly but
just in a different way.
"As one patient said,
it's like having a little nurse that sits on your shoulder."
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