Over five and a half thousand people in Wiltshire have COPD and it is the leading cause of hospital admissions. It accounted for 570 admissions in 2009, amounting to 5,357 bed days. NHS Wiltshire wanted to focus on delivering care at home to patients with long-term conditions such as COPD, and is investing in innovative telehealth technology to help reduce emergency admissions and bed days related to COPD and other long-term conditions.

Telehealth solutions help to reduce the need for repeat hospital admissions, for patients to make frequent visits to GP surgeries and for routine check-ups or nurse home visits; this is better for the patient and relieves pressure on NHS resources.

COPD Community Matron for NHS Wiltshire, Regitse Lewis, said: "Telehealth enables us to intervene earlier when a COPD patient's symptoms worsen, and earlier treatment means a better outcome for the patient. Using the telehealth solutions is easy and helps those struggling to manage their condition to understand what is going on."

"For instance, without the telehealth readings some people don't realise they are feeling ill so don't take medication. Telehealth means that patients are more likely to take their medicine and manage their condition better, which can keep them out of hospital and help them get home sooner if they do need to be admitted. This not only saves the NHS resources through reduced bed days, but also enhances patients' quality of life. Telehealth will enable Community Matrons to monitor a greater number of patients; part of their job is to prevent hospital admission and telehealth helps them achieve that."

To ensure efficient delivery of the service, NHS Wiltshire is using Tunstall's next generation icp integrated care platform which includes the mymedic telehealth solution and icp triagemanager clinical software to support integrated, fully managed and patient-centred care. The icp suite of solutions enables key stakeholders to work beyond traditional organisational boundaries, structures and systems to deliver telehealthcare at scale, ensuring that information and processes are consistent, are shared between professionals and any duplication is eliminated.

Richard Rawcliffe, Sales Director for Tunstall, said: "Telehealth benefits patients, clinicians and the health commissioner. Being able to remotely triage patients helps staff prioritise visits, meaning those experiencing a critical change in their health receive more timely medical intervention. With Tunstall's new icp integrated care platform health services can transform the way care is delivered remotely, driving best use of resources which results in a higher quality, more preventative service for patients."

Patients with COPD have been supplied with Tunstall's mymedic solution, which monitors their blood pressure, oxygen levels and temperature, as well as asking a series of health-related questions, on a daily basis. The information is then transmitted via the telephone line where specialist nursing staff triage the data using icp triagemanager and manage patient health remotely, to ensure timely support is given to patients when needed, avoiding hospital admission.

NHS Wiltshire will initially use telehealth with COPD patients with a view to rolling it out to patients with other long-term conditions.

Telehealth helps patients to be more aware of their own symptoms and to take steps to manage them, helping them to stay well and independent for longer. Telehealth also helps patients in rural areas, or those needing assistance out of hours, as clinicians can look at their readings remotely and assess the patient's needs without having to visit them at home.

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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. For more information on how telehealthcare can improve quality of life, visit www.tunstallhealth.com.