Leicestershire NHS and Spirit Healthcare announce digital remote monitoring support for vulnerable patients

The Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust has increased the number of vulnerable patients across Leicestershire being monitored at home, as local hospital bed capacity is being increased for COVID-19 patients.

Patients who are being cared for by the trust’s community respiratory and heart failure teams, and those who have been discharged from hospital earlier than usual as a result of the pandemic, are being supported by Spirit Digital’s remote monitoring platform, CliniTouch Vie.

Leicester-headquartered Spirit Digital has worked to make this latest technology available to patients nearly two months sooner than expected to help the NHS with its coronavirus response, and has enhanced it to help medical teams quickly identify when a person exhibits health deterioration so they can intervene earlier.

Remote monitoring also helps patients to know what to do next to help maintain their long-term health and wellbeing at home.

Digital technology to enhance care is the key to remotely connecting clinical staff with the most at-risk patients and delivering care to them while they are in the safety of their own homes

It is enabling patients to stay out of hospital and manage their condition at home; is connecting patients and nurses through technology to deliver care easily and safely; is empowering patients to learn more about their condition and nurses to be confident about the health status of their patient; and is increasing hospital bed capacity for Covid-19 patients.

Using CliniTouch Vie, up to 1,000 patients in and around Leicester will take regular vital signs readings and answer personalised health questions on a smartphone, tablet or computer. These readings are provided directly to specialist clinical staff who can then remotely connect with patients to provide health and wellbeing advice, and intervene where, and when, more-urgent care is needed.

Professor Sudip Ghosh, clinical director for research and specialist services at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, said: “Maximising resource while providing the best-possible levels of clinical care for our vulnerable patients is vital at this current time.

“Digital technology to enhance care is the key to remotely connecting clinical staff with the most at-risk patients and delivering care to them while they are in the safety of their own homes.”

CliniTouch Vie is a market-ready, CE-marked, proven digital solution.

Maximising resource while providing the best-possible levels of clinical care for our vulnerable patients is vital at this current time

Patients can use their own device or a supplied locked-down tablet, which is provided with integrated 3G for intensive monitoring, education and empowerment with integrated direct messaging and video support.

And the data is stored securely to ensure patient safety and confidentiality.

Chris Barker, chief executive of Spirit Health Group, said: “The situation we find ourselves in with Covid-19 emphasises why Spirit exists – to make health easy.

“Right now, that’s more important than ever before and we are proud to be in a position to support both our local NHS and vulnerable people and will continue to respond and adapt to this unprecedented situation, finding new ways to provide brilliant products and services.”