Frimley ICS nominated for HSJ Digital Clinical Transformation Award

Frimley Health and Care ICS has been shortlisted for a HSJ Value Award for its Covid Oximetry @home programme.

Starting in Slough, one of the NHS England pilot sites which aimed to reduce harms from Covid-19, the team used the area’s shared care record, powered by Graphnet, to support the development of a new Covid Oximetry @home service. The ICS and Graphnet worked with operational teams to co-design an all-in-one solution called Care@Home using the integrated population health platform, shared care record and Personal Health Record (PHR) for clinicians to identify and monitor patients at home. This saved lives and reduced the burden on hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic.

A key theme of the entry for the Digital Clinical Transformation Award was that the teams took a harder path for greater impact.  Population health data analysis provided the evidence for going beyond the national guidance of only monitoring clinically extremely vulnerable patients to a wider pool of at-risk patients because they would also benefit from the service.  Frimley was able to develop this operationally by providing a candidates list for services to proactively contact people who had tested positive for Covid-19 and were in the moderate risk category.

To support services to monitor their patients more effectively, the shared record PHR app was re-purposed for patients to record their symptoms and readings so that this data could be integrated rather than using a separate nationally provided app.

The integrated digital solution closed the gaps at the transitions and transfers of care.  For example, if someone turns up at A&E, the on-call clinicians can review their oxygen saturation and heart rate history and make quicker and more informed decisions.  

Analysis of the data comparing information about what happened to patients who had been enrolled onto the Covid Oximetry @home service with those who hadn’t, reveals the Frimley ICS service saves lives and reduces hospital stays.  

Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 2 September.