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Update on the Whole Systems Demonstrator Programme

05 Jan 2012

Nick Chapman, Chief Executive of NHS Direct

“The headline findings from the Whole Systems Demonstrator (WSD) programme have confirmed our understanding of the benefits that innovative and remote care delivered through Telehealth can bring to patients and healthcare systems. These results are in line with what we have seen from our own Telehealth pilots, and provide us with an optimistic outlook to continue to deliver Telehealth at scale across the NHS in the future.

“Using our 12 years’ experience of providing remotely-delivered services to patients, NHS Direct is able to provide a full Telehealth monitoring service combined with specialist clinical and technical triage care for patients living with long-term conditions. Working in close collaboration with local NHS organisations, clinicians, charities, technologists and patients, we are piloting a Telehealth project in Leeds and Hull with over 230 patients. This service is designed to help patients living with long-term conditions, such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), monitor their own health, empowering them to live as independent, healthy lives as possible whilst giving patients the ability to self-care and become experts in the management of their condition.

“Feedback from patients has been extremely positive, with one patient commenting:

“The service is a real comfort to me - almost like having a doctor in the house. I don’t need to rely as much on my panic button or the contact details for various nurses and doctors that I used before taking part in the scheme.”

“It is envisaged that developing this service at scale will help to reduce unnecessary A&E attendances and hospital admissions. There are big savings to be made from the implementation of Telehealth at scale, which could be reinvested to help with the ever-increasing costs of an ageing population in particular. It is our intention to release the savings from introducing Telehealth services at scale back into the NHS.

“NHS Direct fully supports the Department of Health’s drive to adopt and embed these innovative technologies and we believe that the launch of the 3 Million Lives campaign could mark a significant step forward in providing wide-scale benefits to patients and the NHS through emerging technologies coupled with redesigned pathways of care.”

About the Whole Systems Demonstrator Programme

The Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) programme is the largest randomised control trial of telehealth and telecare in the world, involving 6191 patients, 238 GP practices across three sites, Newham, Kent and Cornwall. WSD was set up to look at cost effectiveness, clinical effectiveness, organisational issues, effect on carers and workforce issues. It focused on three conditions, diabetes, COPD and coronary heart disease.

The headline findings (December 2011) can be found at:

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_131684