Sick elderly in care homes detected early by app

Care homes have been testing a health app which can spot whether an elderly person is unwell early and reduce residents’ need to go into hospital.

Staff at seven care homes have been trained to use Inhealthcare Professional app via tablets to see how well it can reduce the number of hospital admissions of elderly people. The app acts as an early warning system to detect when residents show signs of becoming unwell.

Care home workers in Sheffield can use the technology to monitor a resident’s respiration rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and level of consciousness and record this information digitally using a tablet app instead of paper.

The information is then shared with nurses at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for their assessment and support with clinical decision making.

‘All singing from the same hymn sheet‘

Emma Smith, care home manager at Moorend Place, a 52-bed nursing home which specialises in dementia care, said: “For our staff, the technology is very good, very quick and very easy to use. For our patients, the benefit is the potential to minimise admissions to hospital.

"A change in their environment can have a massive impact on their condition, so they need to be treated at their home.”

The Digital Care Home project is being trialled with 70 residents at care homes in Sheffield namely: Balmoral Care Home; Moorend Place;Chapel Lodge; Haythorne Place; Chatsworth Grange Nursing Home; Alexander Court Care Home and Loxley Court.

Ms Smith said the care home is doubling the number of residents taking part in the Digital Care Home project in the next phase of the trial.

Amanda Fields, manager at Alexander Court, a 56-bed care home, said: “The technology has become part of our routine. If you can send a text message, you can use the app. The service enables us to identify somebody who might be starting to become unwell earlier on rather than waiting for the usual symptoms to appear.

“If we are identifying people earlier and can see their stats are out of range, it gives us time to speak to their GP who can start treatment for them. That’s welcome for the patient and the local health budget.”

Ms Fields added: “The relationship with other care professionals is important. This project brings us all together. We are all singing from the same hymn sheet.”

The technology enables staff to intervene at an earlier stage and reducing the risk of a resident becoming so ill they need to go into hospital. Instead of a hospital visit, staff can prioritise GP visits, increase resident monitoring, comduct medication reviews or organise community nurse home visits.

Philippa Hedley-Takhar, programme manager for the Digital Care Home, said: “Our new collaboration between the care home community and local NHS services in Sheffield has been well received by those involved.

“As a result of the programme, we are building strong new partnerships between care homes and healthcare professionals.”

Bryn Sage, chief executive of technology provider Inhealthcare, said: “The Digital Care Home project provides extra reassurance to residents and their loved ones that they are being looked after at their home, where they would much rather be than in A&E or a hospital ward. We believe the Digital Care Home model is scalable and can be deployed rapidly across the country”.

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