Care home support for Albert
Albert Joyner was the 1,000th patient to be linked up to the Telehealth Hub, which meant he could get urgent medical help from hospital consultants if he needed it – without having to leave the comfort of his nursing home.
The ex-Royal Marine, who was 101 years old and lived at Herncliffe Care Home in Keighley, where residents and staff alike are reassured that they can get round the clock face-to-face medical care from a hospital consultant or specialist nurse using telemedicine.
Beverley Clarkson, deputy matron of Herncliffe, said their staff were impressed by the telemedicine service and used it to get advice for patients who had falls, infections and needed palliative care. “I think the service is a brilliant idea,” she said. “Lots of our clients get very distressed at the thought of going into hospital so anything that helps us care for them here is good.”
Helen Bourner, Director of Strategy and Partnerships at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The technology helps to provide more care for residents at home or in their care home, rather than calling an ambulance. This is what our patients, their relatives and the nursing home staff would prefer so it’s been down to us to change the way we provide our specialist care to meet their needs.”
