Pendle patients can now see doctor via new video link

3:00pm Friday 13th July 2012 in Health Photograph of the Author By Catherine Pye, Health reporter

Patients will talk to specialists via video Patients will talk to specialists via video

A PIONEERING telehealth service is being piloted for patients in Pendle, which could halve hospital admissions.

Airedale Hospital, near Skipton, which sees 10 per cent of admissions coming from the Pendle and Burnley areas, has installed a telehealth system at a nursing home, two GP surgeries with four more planned, and in a patient’s own home.

The video conferencing system allows patients with chronic conditions to see and speak directly to a medic via a TV set, who can advise and assess whether a hospital admission is necessary.

The aim is to eventually roll the system out across the region, including East Lancashire.

Ann Wagner, director of strategy and business development at Airedale, said: “It’s the quickest way to get an opinion.

We will always admit people into hospital who need to come, but we’re hoping to reduce unnecessary admissions.

“In the past, everything’s been based around the medical staff, and for a lot of people it’s difficult, stressful and requires time off work to come to hospital appointments. Now we’re designing health services to suit the patients.”

For the pilot, patients with a history of repeat admissions have been chosen for the £2,500 set-top boxes, and doctors can use them to get a second opinion over an emergency admission.

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A team of 13 sisters work on a rota to staff the Telehealth Hub, which is currently taking about three calls a day.

Hub manager Marie Buchan said: “It is very reassuring for people who are panicking when they press their emergency button.”

She said someone with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, for example, who was struggling to breathe could speak to a nurse and thereby decide if they needed to go to hospital.

Practices using the service are Earby Surgery and Barnoldswick Medical Centre.

Others which plan to are Dr Jha’s surgery and Richmond Hill practice at Colne Medical Centre, Colne Corner Surgery and the Yarnspinners health Centre, Nelson. Cravenside care home, Barnoldswick, uses the scheme for its 40 residents.

Each hospital admission costs £2,500; bosses at Airtedale believe that if the the scheme were rolled out further, it could reduce admissions by 30 to 50 per cent.

Comments (1)

10:29pm Sat 14 Jul 12

Pendlesider says...

The sole method to advise and assess whether a hospital admission is necessary is via a physical examination by a qualified medical practitioner. Anything else is pure guesswork.
.
If this tele-examination is what is replacing closed A&E's (such as at Burnley) under the banner of care in the community, then we can all kiss goodbye to the NHS as we knew it.
.
Incorrect diagnoses costs lives.
since the closure of Burnley's A&E most acute receiving hospitals such as Blackburn and Airedale have struggled to cope with increased admissions. This is just another poor attempt to manage the burden.
.
It's not a diagnoses anyway, it's simply an 'opinion' as the
director of strategy and business development at Airedale, said: “It’s the quickest way to get an opinion.
The sole method to advise and assess whether a hospital admission is necessary is via a physical examination by a qualified medical practitioner. Anything else is pure guesswork. . If this tele-examination is what is replacing closed A&E's (such as at Burnley) under the banner of care in the community, then we can all kiss goodbye to the NHS as we knew it. . Incorrect diagnoses costs lives. since the closure of Burnley's A&E most acute receiving hospitals such as Blackburn and Airedale have struggled to cope with increased admissions. This is just another poor attempt to manage the burden. . It's not a diagnoses anyway, it's simply an 'opinion' as the director of strategy and business development at Airedale, said: “It’s the quickest way to get an opinion. Pendlesider

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