Demand on A&E departments increases during the winter, due to large numbers of people attending with viruses such as the flu and Norovirus, illnesses related to cold weather and respiratory problems.
The prevalence of seasonal illnesses is especially common in the elderly, who in the winter months tend to suffer from a decline in health even more than the rest of the population. Whenever possible, the Immedicare Telemedicine service helps care home residents avoid a trip to hospital unless absolutely necessary. Elderly residents are more likely to become ill due to the cold weather or through exposure to other people’s bugs in the hospital waiting rooms.
Last Winter, the NHS went through a challenging period due to the increased pressure on A&E departments and ambulance services. It is likely that this year, demand will be as high and Trusts are putting plans in place to ensure they can cope with the surge of demand through the colder months. We want to help as much as possible.
Immedicare is a leading provider of clinical healthcare services, delivered via telemedicine. From the digital care hub at Airedale Hospital, we support you and your local services to enhance the care provided to people living in nursing and residential settings.
By carrying out remote assessments and proactive engagement with your local providers, our service has been shown to reduce ambulance conveyances and A&E attendance rates, reduce acute hospital admissions and reduce GP visits both in and out of hours.
Sharon Earnshaw, General Manager of Headingley Hall Care Home told us how the use of telemedicine has benefited the home: “our residents feel very confident when speaking to a health professional using telemedicine. Some of our residents are very anxious about the thought of going to hospital and express their wish to remain at home. By using the service to obtain a clinical assessment, we have been able to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and further distress to the residents, which is also comforting for their relatives. During April we avoided 14 hospital admissions by using the Immedicare service.”
If telemedicine can reduce admissions, hospital staff can be better utilised to care for appropriate patients and work in a much more efficient and cost effective way to improve the quality of service they deliver to those that require secondary care.
Winter is rapidly approaching, so to help with your Winter planning, we must move fast! Please get in touch and we’ll arrange a consultation as soon as possible so we can equip care and residential homes within your CCG area with telemedicine to help reduce the number of hospital admissions.
Are you a care home who want Immedicare in your home? Contact your local CCG and tell them!
For more information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
