Service Overview
The Telehealth Team consists of Telehealth Care Support Workers, Nurses, advanced practitioner and a Clinical Lead who work with patients diagnosed with different conditions including long term medical condition(s) to help them to monitor, manage and control their own health.Long term conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, breathing problems (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD) and heart problems that need to be managed carefully to avoid periods of illness and unnecessary hospital visits and admissions.Telehealth simply means providing health care at a distance rather than face to face. In Newham, we are leading the way in using telehealth technology to support people to help manage their condition, maintain their health and well-being and live independently.
Why we use Telehealth
Our Telehealth services aim to do three things:
- Support people in understanding their long term condition and acquiring the skills and habits of self management needed to achieve the best outcomes in terms of their health.
- Reduce avoidable hospital admissions and inappropriate A&E visits through improving the information available to patients, carers and clinical staff.
- Minimise the waste of time and resource consumed by face to face interaction where the patient would prefer support to be provided remotely and where this support can be done effectively.
Please remember that our Telehealth services are not emergency services rather they aim to help you understand how best to manage your condition and that includes knowing the best way of handling an emergency.
Our approach to Telehealth
We have a step up/step down approach incorporating COVID pathways to providing Telehealth that aims to give you the support you need it when you need it.
If you have severe health problems and would like to learn more about your condition and how to manage it with the aid of videos, questionnaires and reminders we have a Telehealth system that uses a tablet or a mobile phone device.
If you understand your condition and how to manage it but feel you would benefit from reminders and feedback on how well you are looking after yourself, we also have a Telehealth solution that uses your mobile phone to provide a free to use text based service.
Finally if you fully understand your condition and how to manage it but feel that you would benefit from a periodic call to enquire as to how you are coping we have a telephone based service.
All our Telehealth solutions are supported by clinicians. This means that a nurse will discuss your condition with you, give you more information about the services available and help you decide the best Telehealth option for you. They will also be able to offer advice and support remotely as needed.
Our Telehealth Services
The Telehealth Team supports people with Diabetes, Heart Failure, Hypertension,Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease,long term catheters, at risk of developing pressure sores, learning disability and Pulmonary Rehabilitation.
Florence
Florence is a simple telehealth text messaging service that helps you take a more active role in your health care and gives you the freedom to get on with your life. Florence can give personalised health tips, provide valuable advice to help you stay on track and send medication reminders - so you’ll never need to miss another pill again.
It’s quick to set up, and takes less than a minute. It’s easy to use and it’s right there on your own mobile phone (You don't need a smart phone) and Florence is not an app.It is a free taext messaging service at the point of use for patients that are monitored for their health and well being.
How does it work?
Once you have registered you can start to use Florence right away on your mobile phone. You just simply key in your information and Florence does the rest. You may be loaned or given equipment so that you can take your own readings. Florence sends these to a nurse who can monitor your health, leaving you to get on with your life. This means you won’t need to visit your doctor or nurse so often, and if you become unwell, this can be picked up before things become more serious. However if one is feeling very unwell and in case of emergency the advice is to call 999.
In ELFT we are using it to help patients monitor:
- Heart failure
- Hypertension
- Chronic lung disease
- Diabetes
- Severe mental illness,
- To support long term catheters ( to enable to contact the team if any issues),
- Pulmonary Rehabilitation
- Learning disability by using technology to connect with clinicians to help them to monitor, manage and control their own health and thereby empowering patients and encouraging self-management.
Does it cost me anything?
On most phone networks in the UK Flo is free for service users as the NHS meets the cost. Before signing you up to Flo we will test to make sure that you can access the free service on your phone.
Where can I find out more about Florence?
There is a lot more information about Florence, also referred to as Simple Telehealth, at http://www.simple.uk.net/