Telehealth programme launched in Cheshire

A Telehealth programme has been launched in west Cheshire and Chester in a bid to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and improve patient outcomes. With the support of the West Cheshire Health Consortium, the scheme has been funded through a reablement grant and will see 50 Honeywell HomMed monitors deployed in patients' homes by Lancashire firm, SeniorLink Eldercare. They will be used to monitor the condition of patients with long-term conditions such as heart failure and COPD. "The funding for the project was approved by West Cheshire Health Consortium and has very clear goals," said Charlotte Walton, commissioning manager for adult social care and health at Cheshire West and Chester Council. "We hope to use the scheme to improve the quality of service and health outcomes for patients, as well as enabling clinicians to prioritise their workload more effectively. The project has received particular support from the consultant cardiologists at the main acute hospital and the specialist heart failure nurses. Patient usability feedback has also been extremely positive." A formal evaluation of the project is scheduled to take place in September. "Our current focus is to identify where telehealth can support pathway redesign," said Walton.