Karen Howell, chief executive at Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, writes for the Globe.

THE past two years have brought about significant changes to the way we deliver health and care services.

Innovative ways of delivering care and adapting to new ways of working has resulted in an increased use of digital monitoring systems to enable people to manage their long-term conditions in the comfort of their own home.

Our Telehealth Service supports local people living at home with Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). The team also provides support for people who have tested positive for Covid-19. Telehealth simply means providing health care at a distance rather than face-to-face.

Our dedicated team currently provides specialist support to over 125 people. They are able to recognise the signs and symptoms that can lead to exacerbations, which helps prevent them needing to go to hospital. Since the service launched in November 2020 over 7,490 people have accessed the service.

Through the use of innovative technology and specialist equipment such as blood pressure machines and pulse oximeters, our remote monitoring service empowers patients to self-manage their long- term condition effectively at home. By understanding their symptoms and knowing their numbers, along with support from our clinical team, people can recognise what their symptoms mean, whether they are deteriorating and can then access the medical help they need.

Our service gives people peace of mind that their condition is monitored regularly by health care professionals.

Our team of highly-trained and experienced nurses enable people to:

  • Access support and advice about COPD or Heart Failure from highly skilled nurses
  • Monitor and manage their conditions carefully to avoid periods of illness and unnecessary hospitals visits and admissions. On Wirral there are around 30,000 people aged 65+ who report to have a limiting long-term condition and this number is projected to increase to 41,000 by 2030.

Locally, COPD is considered a key condition and the latest census data recorded over 2,600 people with heart failure on GP practice registers*, highlighting the need to support people to self-manage their conditions.

So, how do you access the Telehealth Service if you have COPD or Heart Failure? If you have either of these conditions please speak to your GP or health and care professional about a referral into our Telehealth Service.

To find out more about our Telehealth Service and fantastic team visit www.wchc.nhs.uk/telehealth

*Wirral Intelligence Service / Census 2001