Domiciliary care is provided to people who still live in their own homes but who require additional support with household tasks, personal care or any other activity that allows them to maintain their independence and quality of life. Keeping people at home and out of hospital for as long as possible is essential for services not be overwhelmed and for precious resources to be focused where they are needed the most at any one time. Keeping people at home for as long as possible is one of the strategic objectives of the Foundation Group. One way of doing this is through use of remote monitoring technology.

The opportunity

When we were first set up in 2020, the Digital Hub saw an opportunity to contribute to this strategic objectives of the Foundation Group. We wanted to help keep people at home for as long as possible, empowering them and their families to take an active role in their own, or their loved one’s, care while ensuring that clinicians are still able to track their health in real time without requiring in-person visits.

What we did

We looked at the market and explored various types of remote monitoring technology. We showcased the one we thought was the best to one of the community teams at SWFT, who were happy to pilot the solution with 30 gifted devices. The solution was an artificial intelligence platform that gathered data using a wearable device and a number of sensors discreetly placed around an individuals home. The results are displayed on a dashboard that could be accessed by clinicians. Over time the artificial intelligence would learn what is normal for a person and alert clinicians if something out of the ordinary happened.

For the proof of concept, the clinical team identified 30 people living with dementia who lived at home and who, or their families, were happy to try out the technology. The aims of the project were:

1. Help people stay independent in their own home

2. Reduce the number of times people were taken to the hospital

3. Check daily how patients are doing with their health

We worked with the supplier to install the devices, to train families on using the user interface and to train staff on how to use the dashboards.

The outcome

The outcomes of the initial pilot were positive. Within the first 29 weeks of use, the provider measured a 58% reduction in GP appointments, 80% reduction in hospital appointments, 53% reduction in 999 calls, 100% reduction in 111 calls and 43% reduction in unnecessary visits from place based teams (PBT).