NHS healthcare workers in Luton will be able to monitor chronic patients outside of clinical settings through a partnership with Swedish med tech firm Doccla.

Luton Children and Adults Community Health Services will work with Doccla to deliver a comprehensive remote patient monitoring service, including wearable technology.

This contract has been awarded through the new NHSX remote patient monitoring framework agreement, which is intended to accelerate the implementation of remote health monitoring solutions in the UK.

Doccla’s Virtual Ward service allows clinical staff to monitor patients’ vital signs remotely, either continuously or intermittently, via a secure web browser.

Each patient’s device sends daily automated readings and alerts of routine measurements (e.g. pulse and oxygen levels) via Doccla to Luton clinicians to review and take any action necessary.

WHY IT MATTERS

Doccla’s service aims to reduce the cost and workload pressures on the NHS by reducing the need for patients with long-term or chronic health conditions to visit hospital. The breadth of data gathered by the wearables is intended to give patients assurance that their care team has an eye on their health and will be alerted if their condition deteriorates. 

THE LARGER CONTEXT

The need for remote care solutions has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In July, Doccla announced a partnership with Northampton General Hospital Trust to trial its remote smart patient monitoring in July and has worked with the trust  to collaboratively develop a service for COVID patients as well as the chronically ill.

Meanwhile, digital cancer care company Careology recently announced a partnership with The London General Practice to launch its Careology Connect platform, which allows clinicians to remotely monitor patients’ COVID symptoms in real-time and intervene if medical attention is needed. The service uses wearable devices to monitor users’ temperature, heart rate and activity levels.

ON THE RECORD

Dag Larsson, CEO and cofounder of Doccla said: “The virtualisation of patient wards is a critical step in expanding health resources, increasing efficiency and capacity and, most importantly, delivering better patient care.  It is exciting to see that there is recognition from the NHS of the benefits remote patient monitoring can bring and we are beginning to see interest swell. 

“Doccla’s unique approach of using innovative tech combined with an ability to support clinical service means we overcame much larger tech players to win this first of what we hope are many contracts. Our vision is to make virtual wards a day-to-day part of secondary patient care.” 

Pete Reeve, service director at Luton Children and Adults Community Health Services said: “We are excited to be working with Doccla to implement best-in-class technology that means we can keep those suffering with chronic conditions safe at home, thus reducing the risk of virus transmission while alleviating some of the time and capacity pressures felt by our staff.”