In 2009/10, the Trust saw over 2,800 emergency admissions related to people with long-term conditions, equating to a commissioning cost of almost £8m. The Trust wanted to find a solution that would enhance care provision for people living with conditions such as COPD, Heart Failure and Stroke, to help health staff closely monitor patients’ vital signs remotely and respond quickly to any changes, cutting avoidable hospital admissions and enabling patients to monitor their health from home rather than needing to attend out-patient or GP appointments. This encourages positive behaviour change, reinforces clinical best practice, and improves health, giving patients a better understanding of their condition.

A recent evaluation of the 12-month telehealth project, which involved 104 patients, revealed substantial cost savings with the service almost halving the average length of hospital stays for patients, and reducing emergency admissions by almost 30%.

Patients gave positive feedback about their use of telehealth, with 85% believing it led to greater understanding of their condition, whilst 79% reported increased satisfaction as a result of improved health management. Community matrons also noted that their numbers of home visits were reduced, enabling them to better prioritise their workload.

Mike Ore, Head of Service Delivery at the Halton and St Helens' Division of Bridgewater Community Health Services said: "Deploying the telehealth system for community-based care enabled us to empower patients, reduce anxiety, and promote independence, improving overall quality of life. Telehealth also educates patients to be aware of their symptoms and how to proactively manage them, reducing part of the pressure on healthcare providers. This can be seen as an excellent example of innovative partnership work being undertaken by Community Health Services and Sefton Careline."

David Cockayne, Health and Social Care Director for Tunstall said: "The deployment of telehealth in Halton and St Helens continues to deliver significant cost savings and support to people across the area. Telehealth provides a vital service to patients with long-term conditions, and the excellent leadership by the community health provider and commissioning teams has proven key to its success in delivering a truly first-class service that improves quality of life and helps to maintain independence."

As part of the project, 60 Tunstall telehealth packages were deployed to patients from three different chronic disease areas: Heart Failure, COPD and Stroke. These consisted of Tunstall's icp mymedic unit and associated peripherals to measure vital signs and symptoms. Each day, patients would take their own blood pressure, oxygen levels, weight and temperature and answer a series of health related questions.

Results are automatically transmitted to Sefton Careline where operators use the icp triagemanager software to review the statistics and provide support when necessary.

One patient taking part in the telehealth pilot said: "Telehealth has been a great benefit to me. It helps me manage my condition on a daily basis whereas before if I became unwell I would wait another day to see if my condition improved. Sadly it never did and I would end up in hospital for long periods of time. I now know when I'm becoming unwell and it's acted on immediately."

The benefits realised so far have led to an increased budget for Halton and St Helens telehealth service, who continue to strengthen partnerships with Sefton Careline and other stakeholders to expand and develop the service.

The Trust plans to extend the provision of telehealth to collective patient groups, including multi-user telehealth facilities in residential care schemes using Tunstall's myclinic solution. Further future objectives include embedding telehealth into wider reablement programmes in the area, to further develop the service and encourage engagement with the acute sector and GP practices.

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About Tunstall
Tunstall Healthcare Group is the market leading provider of telehealthcare solutions, with over 2.5 million users globally. Tunstall's solutions support older people and those with long-term needs, to live independently, by effectively managing their health and well-being. Tunstall provides technology, expertise and advice to millions of people enabling them to lead independent more fulfilling lives.