Working with Weldmar Hospicecare, we have created ‘Weldmar Connect’ – a brand new telehealth app that allows Weldmar Community Nurses to monitor patients at home, and is the first app of its kind to be developed and launched in the UK.
The app enables a patient to use their own smartphone, tablet, or computer, to complete a short daily questionnaire about symptoms such as pain, nausea and anxiety, as well as information about their mobility and dependence on others. When symptoms are rated as severe, additional questions and guidance will appear for the patient. For any patient without internet access, the questionnaire can be completed via a daily automated phone call.
The app also includes useful information for patients such as emergency contact numbers, including the Weldmar 24 Hour Advice Line, and breathing exercises.
The Weldmar Community Nurse assigned to the patient will see the results of each daily questionnaire, and be able to prioritise their caseload for the day based on the severity of symptoms being reported by each patient. The information also helps to identify trends in the condition of each patient.
With the outbreak of Covid-19, Weldmar Connect is providing a vital link to community patients at a time when non-essential travel and social distancing is so important, although Weldmar Community Nurses will continue to make patient visits when necessary, equipped with masks and other personal protective equipment.