A man from Harrow has become one of the first patients treated in a new virtual ward at Northwick Park Hospital.
One challenge of delivering more home-based tech for NHS patients is its accessibility to older patients however Chandulal Parekh, 94, from Stanmore, has no fears about the tech.
He has become one of the first patients to be treated in the new ward for diabetes at Northwick Park Hospital.
The former accountant uses an app on his iPad to check his blood sugar levels remotely monitored several times a day by specialist nurses.
Diabetes Nurse Consultant Sharon McCarthy said: “The majority of people don’t want to stay in hospital any longer than they have to so we provide the support to make it happen.
“Patients are discharged from the virtual ward once their condition has stabilised but initially may be sending us four to five readings a day. If we spot anything untoward, we call them and advise on changes in medication.”
Diabetes VW patients are given a blood glucose meter and access to an app that can upload their blood glucose readings onto the platform and can be monitored virtually in real time.
The trust runs other ‘virtual’ wards for heart failure, respiratory, and infectious diseases with additional wards planned for ear, nose and throat and end-of-life care.
This Government has recently announced that it wants at least 10,000 patients being treated at home in ‘virtual wards’ by the end of the year.
