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HOME is where the heart is. Ask May – no surname by request. She's suffered from heart failure for longer than she cares to remember but wants to stay at home and independent for as long as possible.
May's the feisty sort. Her heart may have let her down but her medication has been upped to balance her equilibrium.
She's no fool and realises that life has become a balancing act between her cocktail of medication and how she applies herself to daily life.
But a new service and a whole raft of other
initiatives have enabled her to regain control of her life and manage her conditions without having to go back into hospital or into care.
May has serious heart disease, chronic renal impairment, congestive cardiac failure and chronic obstructive lung disease.
She also has the most beautiful smile, a love of good music, books, the company of her close-knit circle of friends, even if she can't get out any more with them, and the care extended by her award -winning community matron Sara Trow and her consultant cardiologist.
May isn't up to any surgical procedures. But she still had to turn up at hospital regularly for intravenous diuretics to expel excess fluid.
She doesn't fault the care received, but tends to pick up infections. On her last admission, she contracted such a bad one she had to be isolated, her stay extended from five days to three weeks.
It made her vow not to go into hospital again. She opted for a "preferred place of care" plan. It's been a turning point. Now thanks to a lifeline link she's able to enjoy greater qualify of life, content that she is being monitored from afar.
Blackpool Council's Vitaline started out as a peace-of-mind service to potentially vulnerable, predominantly elderly, disabled or housebound people, or others prone to falls and hazards.
Referrals tend to come from medics, although some – patients or relatives – can call the centre and register for the service themselves, with five levels of safeguard telecare available, starting from little more than 2 a week.
It's come a long way since the initial pendant alarm, linked to the call centre at Walter Robinson Court (the flats) at Layton, which can be pressed to call for assistance.
Now there are all sorts of sensors, to detect fire, bed, chair and other movement, flood, falls, temperature, gas, and more.
As a result of an innovative partnership between Vitaline and NHS Blackpool, residents with serious health and social care needs now receive treatment at home in a pioneering 'Telehealth' initiative that has never before been delivered outside a hospital setting.
It's already led to a 75 per cent fall in hospital admissions for those covered, including the likes of May. She prefers to take control of her own condition rather than have it dictating her life.
The service has given her greater understanding of her medical condition, helped her manage it and improved her quality of life.
May demonstrates this by turning to an unobtrusive device at her side. It's smaller than a shoebox and monitors and relays her information back to the control centre.
At regular intervals, it guides May through the process of monitoring vital signs such as blood pressure, weight, oxygen saturation, blood sugar monitoring, along with prompts for medication and questions regarding health status, all preset by her clinician, who's able to adjust dosage or arrange a home visit if concerned.
It's enabled most to take control of their own conditions. Visits by community matrons, some of the most hard-pressed of our support nursing network, particularly in cardiac care ranks, have halved. There's even been 85
per cent reduction in GP contact.
More importantly, it has significantly improved the quality of life and peace of mind of local citizens, including the most vulnerable.
"It's enabled me to regain control of my life," says May, who has taken part in another trailblazer too, receiving sub-cutaneous drugs in
the comfort of her own home.
"I used to be quite anxious but now I know I am being looked after, at all times, here in my home, not a hospital ward, or a care home, and it's lovely, even though I'm housebound, to be able to stay here, among my things, and feel safe and secure.
"I still have quality of life. I've just had to make accommodations with my declining health."
Any change in May's condition, her heart rate, temperature, or other symptoms, can be relayed back, with the staff able to seek guidance from the community matron or other specialist staff or summon help if needed.
The local service, run out of cramped quarters, is changing the future of telehealth care in Britain, which is why other authorities and primary care trusts have been beating a path to Blackpool.
"It's a blueprint for Britain," admits service manager Margaret Seddon. "What we offer is the ultimate safety net, helping us maintain the health of our service users, and prioritise an effective response, whether that's a phone call, or a personal visit, or summoning emergency aid.
"And while it's easy to think it's all about elderly people, we have younger people too, such as a 19-year-old who needs the reassurance Vitaline brings.
"It helps reduce avoidable ambulance/paramedic call-outs, avoidable hospital admissions, avoidable admissions to residential care and supports people safely in their own homes."
Back at the base, team leader Gwen Robinson oversees the team making regular pre-planned calls to those registered with the service, from a brief exchange to a longer chat, or, depending on the level of service chosen, giving medication prompts where there is an assessed need.
There's even a winter weather alert. "We've tried to think of everything and then think again," admits Gwen.
A board of keys, securely kept, allows a mobile responder to attend at emergencies.
But service manager Margaret is delighted to escape the office and meet one of the service's greatest fans, May.
"This is when you realise just what a very real difference you are making to quality of life," Margaret concludes.
"I couldn't be in a better job, or work with nicer people, or for nicer people."
FACTFILE
* Managing long-term medical conditions in the UK costs the NHS over 1 billion a year.s.
* More than 2,000 people use Vitaline services in Blackpool.
* More women (66 per cent) than men use Vitaline. Ages range from 19 to 96- and all are living independently. Nearly 50 per cent are 81-90. The average age is 78.
* Many have life threatening or limiting respiratory conditions or heart disease, among the biggest UK killers.
* Blackpool's Vitaline is one of the UK's most advanced 24-hour monitoring and response centres.
jacqui.morley@blackpoolgazette.co.uk
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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