Frailty Virtual Care trial – remote monitoring for patients with long term conditions
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, in partnership with primary care (GP practices), has begun a trial programme called Frailty Virtual Care to support a pilot group of eligible patients with long-term conditions. Using specialist remote monitoring technology, the participating patients’ health and wellbeing will be monitored at home without the need to attend GP surgery or hospital check-up appointments. Such ongoing remote monitoring has been shown to help identify and treat emerging issues before they become major problems. Acting on early warning signs can help avoid the need for more intensive support later.
The Frailty Virtual Care trial is scheduled to run until April 2025 and will support 200 patients over a 12-month period. It will focus on helping moderately frail people stay healthy at home. Patients in participating primary care networks (groups of GP practices) will be invited to join based on clinical criteria.
Patients in the trial will use specialist equipment to monitor their health remotely. This includes a pulse oximeter, blood pressure cuff and thermometer. They will also be invited to answer a series of wellbeing questions on a dedicated app. GPs will review the data and ensure appropriate clinical action is taken, if required, starting with a phone call to the patient.
The Trust already uses similar home monitoring technology (Docobo) in its Hospital at Home service, which provides short-term care so patients can stay out of hospital while still being closely monitored by clinicians over a period of days or weeks, until they are deemed medically fit to be discharged. The Frailty Virtual Care programme differs from Hospital at Home as it offers longer-term non-acute support, initially over 12 months, to help patients stay independent and avoid frequent hospital visits.
Through the trial, the Trust and its partners hope to demonstrate how such a programme can:
- Improve health outcomes for patients
- Help patients better understand and manage their own condition
- Reduce unplanned GP visits, A&E attendances and hospital admissions
Jenny Ricketts, Chief Nurse said: “We’re very excited about the benefits this trial will offer our patients. Neighbouring trusts are already realising impressive results from similar programmes. When comparing patients participating in such a programme with patients who are not, data from other trusts has shown a reduction in A&E attendance by 38.6%, a 53.7% reduction in hospital admissions and a reduction of 36.3% in 999 calls. So, in terms of the benefits to our patients and the potential reduction in unplanned hospital attendances, this trial could make a very positive difference to how the future of healthcare is delivered in Buckinghamshire.”
The Frailty Virtual Care trial is a partnership initiative between Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, FedBucks, and BOB ICB, using the Graphnet Docobo platform to monitor patients remotely.