Trust Signs Up For Remote Telemedicine Links

Connected Health Remote Telemonitoring (RTM) System’. This contract represents an investment of £18million over six years.  The system facilitates patients with heart and respiratory conditions, diabetes and those who have suffered a stroke to have their vital signs, such as pulse, blood pressure and body weight, tested at home on a daily basis which will be monitored centrally.  It will give the patient more control and knowledge about their condition and how it affects them so that they can tailor their daily activities to suit. It will also ensure an earlier response and allow chronically ill patients to be cared for at home and prevent hospital admissions. The successful bidders, TF3, who will provide the service,  will alert care providers to any change in their patients’ daily readings that might mean a deterioration in their condition, so that they can decide whether an intervention is necessary. Patients will continue to be supported by Triage Nurses who contact the patient when the reading has been outside the parameters set by the patient’s specialist team. The Triage Nurse will then be able to manage the patient’s care over the phone or send in a Specialist Key Worker from the Trust to ensure optimal care when needed. [caption id="attachment_21725" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Hugh McCaughey, South Eastern HSC Trust Chief Executive (pictured far left) with Jon Lowe, Managing Director of Tunstall Healthcare (seated right), the Minister for Health, Michael McGimpsey and Dr Eddie Rooney, Public Health Agency, at the contract signing with the Trust and Tunstall, bringing remote monitoring technology to patients in their own homes."][/caption] The signing of the contract marks the end of a long and complex procurement programme to ensure technology can be effectively deployed within the community and the start of real innovation and change in the way the Trust delivers services for those with particular chronic diseases. This contract represents an investment of £18 million over six years in the management of long-term conditions. Jon Lowe, Managing Director of TF3, said, “The TF3 Consortium comprises Tunstall Healthcare, Fold Housing Association and S3, and, as the largest provider of Telecare and Telehealth systems in Northern Ireland and the UK, we would like to thank the European Centre for Connected Health in the Public Health Agency and the Health Ttrusts for the opportunity to deliver this programme. TF3 is fully committed to Telehealth that has been shown to support improved health outcomes, earlier interventions and enhanced self-care.” Hugh McCaughey, Chief Executive of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust said, “With demands increasing on healthcare and community care systems for the community, in particular older people, there is an increasing consensus that home based technologies could improve the effectiveness of services and enable independent living for a greater number of clients for an extended period which will enable health care to be delivered at home rather than in hospital”. Within the South Eastern Trust area, the current population profile and predicted growth is consistent with regional growth curves within the older age groups as the highest users of services with the greatest incidence rates of chronic diseases such as Diabetes, COPD and Heart Failure and also dementia. The application of modern technology will form a vital part of future models of care.]]>