{"id":28780,"date":"2019-12-02T12:35:28","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T12:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/?p=28780"},"modified":"2019-12-02T12:35:28","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T12:35:28","slug":"is-tech-the-answer-to-care-home-conundrum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digileaders.com\/is-tech-the-answer-to-care-home-conundrum\/","title":{"rendered":"Is tech the answer to care home conundrum?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not a petrol head. If you gave me a Formula 1 car Lewis Hamilton would have nothing to worry about because I\u2019ve not been shown how to use it.<\/p>\n

Giving technology to a doctor who is neither interested or invested in it would be a similar waste of time.<\/p>\n

However, as a doctor with 20 years\u2019 experience \u2013 including 14 as a GP \u2013 I\u2019ve come to recognise both the role and potential of technology in treating patients.<\/p>\n

By way of background I\u2019m the senior partner of Loomer Road Surgery, in Chesterton and Haymarket Health Centre, in Tunstall, Staffordshire.<\/p>\n

We have four full-time and seven part-time GPs and we look after 28,000 patients. We have to use our finite resources sparingly innovatively.<\/p>\n

A couple of years ago I realised how inefficient we were practicing with call-outs to care homes, so started to look at possible solutions. With increasing workforce issues, the need to practice differently became a priority.<\/p>\n

We have 12 care homes in our catchment area \u2013 significantly higher than the national average \u2013 and at peak times we were getting as many as 20 call-outs a day! That’s enough work for one GP alone!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not criticising the care home staff. They\u2019re so highly regulated that they\u2019re worried about getting it wrong. As such their default position is to call out a GP or a paramedic.<\/p>\n

Throw in the fact we have an ageing population and that people are living a lot longer with more complicated medical conditions and it\u2019s created a perfect storm.<\/p>\n

GP numbers are falling but patient expectations are rising. A lot of the call-outs we were getting to care homes were for routine complaints like chest infections, water infections and minor conditions coughs. I remember once getting called out for a blood test result.<\/p>\n

It was against this backdrop that we were asked about 18 months ago if we wanted to take part in an initiative called the North Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Video Consultation Pilot, which connected GPs to care homes via Skype.<\/p>\n

Health commissioners appointed Preston-based digital agency Redmoor Health to upskill GPs and care home staff in how to use online video technology \u2013 and the results have been transformational.<\/p>\n

Under the initiative, selected GP practices and nursing and residential homes in the region were given portable computer tablets loaded with audio visual programmes, the CCGs\u2019 Florence telehealth system, health management apps and video consultation technology.<\/p>\n

Care home staff were trained in how to take basic measurements like a patient\u2019s pulse, temperature and blood pressure and give that to GPs. It\u2019s important to say that staff can measure but not interpret. There\u2019s an awful lot of information you can get from a trained eye but they\u2019re not substitute doctors.<\/p>\n

What happens now is a care home will call us and we can normally set up a Skype call within a couple of hours or sooner unless urgent action is required.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve not had any complaints or any significant events from patients and many actually prefer a Skype call.<\/p>\n

On average we\u2019re \u00a0now doing about 30 per cent of the care home call-outs we were before the initiative and we\u2019ve built up some really good relationships with a few of the really engaged care homes staff. Conversely, care homes who have not engaged have remained problematic or gotten worse.<\/p>\n

From a doctor\u2019s point of view we\u2019re able to see more patients and reduce our carbon footprint in the process by driving less.<\/p>\n

Technology is a tool. It\u2019s not the solution to every problem but it\u2019s an enabler. Ultimately it\u2019s about harnessing the benefits of modern technology to provide better healthcare.<\/p>\n

The final point I\u2019d make is that great technology is only as good as the staff that use it which is why the training is so important. Without the training the technology will be like that F1 car that never gets out the pits.<\/p>\n

\n

This blog was originally published here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More thought leadership <\/i><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m not a petrol head. If you gave me a Formula 1 car Lewis Hamilton would have nothing to worry about because I\u2019ve not been shown how to use it. Giving technology to a doctor who is neither interested or invested in it would be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":28783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-28780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","region-west-midlands","topic-healthtech","topic-transformation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs tech the answer to care home conundrum? | Digital Leaders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tech is not a perfect solution but it\u2019s an enabler. 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