These are the words of Prime Minister David Cameron during his Life Sciences speech on 5th December 2011.
“…Just look at our approach to tele-health – getting new technology into patients’ homes so they can be monitored remotely. We’ve trialled it, it’s been a huge success, and now we’re on a drive to roll this out nationwide. The aim – to improve three million lives over the next five years. This is going to make an extraordinary difference to people.
Diabetics taking their blood sugar levels at home – and having them checked by a nurse.
Heart disease patients having their blood pressure and pulse rate checked – without leaving their home.
Dignity, convenience and independence for millions of people.
And this is not just a good healthcare story. It’s going to put us miles ahead of other countries commercially too…
…as part of our plan to make our NHS the driver of innovation in UK life science…”
The NHS is to rollout telehealth technologies on an unprecedented "industrial scale", with monitoring devices set to be installed in millions of homes as part of plans announced by David Cameron, but fears of worsening isolating for vulnerable patients have also been voiced.
Introduced by the Prime Minister, the government's new Life Sciences Prospectus aimed to develop a "world-leading system in technology adoption". It said that the government was committed to removing barriers to technology adoption and diffusion in the health service and that telehealth systems would be widely rolled out.
With the potential to save £1.2bn a year the NHS is expected to spend £750m implementing the technology, it has been reported. But government plans said this would be done in collaboration with private companies.
"For high impact technologies that have demonstrated clinical effectiveness, such as telehealth, the NHS Commissioning Board will accelerate adoption throughout the NHS," the prospectus said.
"This will be done in partnership with industry using a new approach that will aim to deliver this technology across the country to improve 3 million lives over the next five years."
It said that delivery on this "industrial scale" has never before been attempted anywhere, and that once rolled-out the NHS would be placed "at the forefront of the management of chronic disease globally".
David Cameron said telehealth, which allows patient health to be monitored by clinicians remotely through broadband enabled technologies, had proven to be a "huge success" after trials.
"We're on a drive to roll this out nationwide," he said. "The aim - to improve three million lives over the next five years.
"This is going to make an extraordinary difference to people. Diabetics taking their blood sugar levels at home, and having them checked by a nurse.
"Heart disease patients having their blood pressure and pulse rate checked, without leaving their home."
NHS chief Sir David Nicholson said the NHS could make an "immediate start" on the "rapid spread of telehealth technology".
NHS chiefs have seemingly been aware of the need to roll-out the technology for some time. A five year business plan released by NHS Direct in June said services would undergo "radical changes" and that patients across the NHS would be encouraged to self care through remote and virtual healthcare aids. At the time, NHS Direct chief executive Nick Chapman said "remotely delivered clinical services" could help to "manage the pressures on stretched primary and secondary healthcare" by reducing "avoidable demand on face-to-face services".
To discover how the Telesolutions e-Academy can help your organisation embrace Telecare and Telehealth contact Georgina Earle on 01943 885086.
Source: Public Service
