A study undertaken by the Universities of Durham, Sheffield, Lancaster and Newcastle has proved the clinical and cost effectiveness of the Health Call app.
The study found that when residents become unwell, Health Call improves the experience and care for residents in a way that is practical and timely for NHS and care home staff.
Through the app, care home staff send vital information about their residents condition and vital signs instantly to the relevant NHS team of healthcare professionals. This means residents can get the treatment that they need quickly and efficiently and prevents care home staff from spending time on the phone to make a referral when a resident becomes unwell.
Despite the obvious advantages of Health Call, to date there has been very limited evaluation that tells us if the app is making a difference to resident care. The new study looked at the outcomes of 8,702 residents from 118 care homes, including interviews with care home staff and district nurses to see how the app was used in practise.
It was found that following the introduction of Health Call there was a reduction in monthly emergency attendances and admissions, re admissions and the length of emergency hospital stays. These changes were also shown to reduce NHS costs and practitioners saw clear clinical benefits. This included upskilling of care home staff, reduced call waiting times that free up care staff to attend to their residents and providing timely and improved information for NHS staff.
The Health Call app was developed in partnership between an NHS Trust in the North East and Cumbria with support from Durham County Council.
You can read the full Health Call research report on the Medrxiv website