By Mia Fisher-Howe on January 11, 2023
We’re proud to have been named as Highly Commended in two categories at the HTN Now Awards 2023 for our work with NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care System (ICS)! The awards, run by Health Tech Newspaper, recognise some of the biggest innovations in digital health.
What categories were we Highly Commended in?
Digital ICS Transformation
- This category is all about how we have worked with LLR ICS to implement digital transformation system-wide
Excellence in Innovation and Change
- This category highlights LLR and Spirit’s efforts to drive system-wide change through innovation
Clinician engagement event at Leicester General Hospital
What project were we commended for?
LLR ICS and Spirit Health are working in partnership to deliver one of the biggest virtual ward rollouts in the country. This ambitious project spans 16 digital pathways, supporting over one million people in the region.
With capacity squeezed more than ever, the largest elective backlog in history and the added pressures of winter and COVID-19, the project adopts a ‘Home First’ mentality to safely shift care from hospitals into homes.
This project uses Spirit’s remote monitoring app, Clinitouch. Patients answer question sets and record vital signs using a tablet device at home. The data is sent to the clinical teams to remotely review the responses. A RAG (red, amber, green) rating indicates where care is urgently required and allows clinicians to intervene or escalate care as appropriate.
Why is this project important?
This pioneering partnership spans 16 clinical pathways, including asthma, COPD and COVID-19. Remote monitoring programmes for respiratory conditions are launching up and down the country. However, what makes LLR and Spirit’s partnership unique is that we are exploring new and innovative ways to expand remote monitoring to new clinical pathways. For example, colorectal cancer and ambulatory jaundice are two of the 16 pathways.
Our key aims for this partnership are:
- To increase capacity across hospitals at LLR ICS
- To make sure patients can access the right care, at the right time, in the right place
- To support healthcare professionals to deliver efficient care and act swiftly if the patient’s health deteriorates
- For the digital technology to work throughout all areas of care
“It’s great to see the innovation and commitment of teams across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland who are caring for more and more patients in their home using technology, when previously they would have been in hospital. Using this technology will benefit patients, free up clinician time, and help us to reduce the Covid backlogs.”
Oliver Newbould, NHS England Locality Director for Leicester and Leicestershire
Read more about our rollout with LLR here.
