The Chinese health professionals were from the Putuo District Health Commission and consisted of public health specialists with cardiac and thoracic backgrounds, and GP doctors. The visitors said that general practice medicine is is infancy in Shanghai so the group were keen to hear first hand, through an interpreter, about how it works in the UK.
Supporting People With a Long Term Condition
They were also interested in hearing about teams and services that work to prevent illness and manage people with long term conditions at home to avoid hospital admission - or bring them home speedily from hospital. This was a new area for them and they were curious to hear if any patients had deteriorated or subsequently needed hospitalisation. The team explained that patients are closely monitored and in some cases, they may end up needing to be admitted if they need more intensive intervention than can be provided where they live. But they can also be brought home quickly when stable.
Telehealth
The visitors spent time with the Telehealth team who currently support over 450 patients. Patients of the Telehealth team monitor their own blood pressure, blood sugar and blood oxygen at home which is fed centrally to the Telehealth team. They can provide an analysis and act and advise on any variations.
It was interesting for the Newham team to find out a little about community medicine and services in China. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners often practice in the same health centres as medical and nursing teams, so patients can be seen by either.