WELDMAR Hospicecare has launched the UK’s first interactive app to monitor patients at home and reduce face-to-face contact during the coronavirus outbreak.

The telehealth app Weldmar Connect allows community nurses to monitor patients at home.

It’s been developed by Weldmar’s palliative care specialists, technology consultant Kate Taylor, and health technology provider Inhealthcare.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, it will provide a link to community patients at a time when non-essential travel and social distancing is so important.

Nurses Lucy Moxham and Emma Randall have used it during the trial period.

Ms Moxham said: “As a nurse, it has enabled me to monitor patient symptoms remotely and more regularly, and pick up on issues sooner than maybe I would normally. This has meant that I’ve been able to resolve/act on problems quicker.”

“Weldmar Connect is super easy to use and takes less than five minutes for a patient to complete.”

Ms Randall said: “It allows me to try and keep that rapport with patients, and helps them feel supported in these very difficult and challenging times. Visits have become less frequent and only happen when absolutely needed, so using the app helps them to feel like we are still very much a presence in their life, even if it is not in the physical sense.”

Community nurses will continue to make patient visits when necessary, equipped with masks and other personal protective equipment.

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.

The community nurse assigned to the patient will see the results of each daily questionnaire, and it will help them to prioritise their caseload for the day. The order of priority is based on the severity of symptoms being reported by each patient. The information also helps to identify trends in the patient’s condition.

Elizabeth and Peter Routledge, from Thornford, have been using the app for the past week.

Mr Routledge said: “I’m not great when it comes to technology but I’ve found it very easy to use.

“It’s very easy to lose track of what’s happened the day before, so the idea of pin pointing symptoms and other factors everyday is really useful.”

Bryn Sage is the Chief Executive of Inhealthcare, who worked alongside Weldmar Hospicecare to develop Weldmar Connect.

He said: “The introduction of the Weldmar Connect service could be a game-changer for community nursing in the palliative care sector.

“During the threat of coronavirus, the service will minimise face-to-face contact to protect patients and nurses from unnecessary risks but maintain regular communications throughout.”