Digital Health Partnership Award winners - phase 2

The Digital Health Partnership Award help NHS organisations in England to bid for funding to accelerate the adoption of digital health technologies that support patients at home. The awards are run by the Innovation Development Team, which is part of the Digital Care Models team in the Transformation Directorate.

The Award brings together partners critical to the scaling of digital health technology. These include: technology partners, patient activation and adoption and outcomes, benefits realisation.

Phase 1 was launched in July 2021 and 14 projects across England were supported. More information on all the projects can be found here.

Phase 2 launched in November and £5,518,492 was awarded across 27 projects to support people at home.

Using a secure video sharing platform to support young people with epilepsy

Lead NHS organisation(s): Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust on behalf of the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnerships Children, Young People & Families Epilepsy Group (WY CYPF Epilepsy Group).

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - vCreate Ltd
• Patient activation and adoption - Airedale District Hospital NHS, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS - Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT), Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust - Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - vCreate Ltd

Details:

West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership is working with West Yorkshire CYPF Epilepsy Group to implement vCreate Neuro. It is a secure clinical video support service allowing patients and clinicians to upload and share clinical videos and photos safely and securely. The platform provides an easy to access set of videos to see how a child or young person’s epilepsy condition has developed over time which clinicians can assess quickly and easily when they are unable to see the patient or the patient cannot attend the clinic. This will also help minimise clinic appointments, reduce waiting times, provide support and reassurance to patient families and prevent unnecessary, costly investigations.

Supporting people with chronic conditions at home

Lead NHS organisation(s): County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - HealthBeacon
• Patient activation and adoption - County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Teesside University National Horizons Centre, NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative

Details:

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with Teesside University National Horizons Centre, NIHR Newcastle In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative and HealthBeacon, aims to support Crohn’s and Colitis biologic patients to take more ownership of their health and wellbeing and improve adherence to their treatment.

They will be integrating HealthBeacon’s Injection Care Management System (ICMS™) into existing clinical pathways. Their ICMS consists of a Smart Sharps Disposal Unit and Companion App for medication management of long-term conditions.

Digital exercise and Self Care for Obesity

Lead NHS organisation(s): Bedfordshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - EXi
• Patient activation and adoption - Barts Health NHS Trust & Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - EXi

Details:

Barts Health NHS Trust is embedding EXi app as a core part of the physical-activity care pathway to benefit patients with their short, medium and long term health, as well as allowing clinicians access to a range of data, helping them to transform their service and clinical outcomes.

EXi is an evidence-based app which analyses user health and fitness and disease status and prescribes a personalised physical-activity programme which is set at the right intensity for each participant.

Using digital health to transform the outpatient care of people with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

Lead NHS organisation(s): Portsmouth University Hospitals Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Ardia Digital Health LTD
• Patient activation and adoption - Kidney Care UK
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - University of Portsmouth Department of Psychology

Details:

Portsmouth University Hospitals Trust will scale the use of the MyRenalCare™ solution within the Wessex Kidney Centre, which will significantly reduce the number of face to face appointments, drive efficiency savings, and promote supported self-care of individuals living with Chronic Kidney Disease in the region.

The Trust will also scale the use of other digital solutions within the renal community to better understand the attitudes and opinions of patients and clinicians towards digitising care and any barriers to adoption. They aim to do this locally, within their region, and nationally, thereby creating a blueprint for what a digital solution should look like, and a framework to delivering such a solution at scale regionally and nationally.

Reducing avoidable hospital admissions for children and young people with asthma.

Lead NHS organisation(s): Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Aseptika
• Patient activation and adoption - James Paget University Hospital
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - SoWhat? Healthcare consultancy

Details:

This project aims to support children and young people (CYP) at high-risk of further asthma attacks who live in the most impoverished parts of the region. Despite most UK adolescents (aged 11 & over) owning smartphones and demonstrating a willingness to carry a connected device that shares personal data, commissioning of mobile platform solutions for CYP is still a rarity. This project aims to address these barriers thereby reducing the risk of asthma attacks and avoidable admissions to hospital for this group of children and young people.

Little Hearts at Home - Remote Paediatric Cardiac Monitoring

Lead NHS organisation(s): Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Objectivity Limited
• Patient activation and adoption - Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Details:

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will be implementing a bespoke Cardiac Home Monitoring programme (Little Hearts at Home) across the CHD Network. The bespoke software system will enable real-time recording, reporting and statistical display of patient’s status in graphical and numerical data, as well as providing chronological trends. This will transform existing post-operative pathways to a proactive and preventative model of care.

Improving seizure detection and analysis at home

Lead NHS organisation(s): Oxford Academic Health Science Network hosted by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Oxford AHSN)

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Neuro Event Limited
• Patient activation and adoption - Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Oxford AHSN

Details:

Oxford Academic Health Science Network, hosted by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (Oxford AHSN), will be working on delivering a system that could aid in the diagnosis and classification of epilepsy. Automated technology will be used to identify seizures, by recognising visual cues from subtle behaviours such as facial, limb movements, repetitive movements, and sound.

Patients can be monitored outside of a hospital environment, preventing emergency admissions by giving them faster and more accurate diagnosis. The system will also provide a better experience for those with learning disabilities or those whose native language is not English, which can reduce the anxiety of the whole process.

Managing Wound Care at Home

Lead NHS organisation(s): Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - WoundMatrix Inc.
• Patient activation and adoption - Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Health NHS Foundation Trust

Details:

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust is delivering a project which will remotely manage wound care at home. This will enable patients with less complex wounds to manage their care at home themselves, or by a carer, thereby avoiding unnecessary journeys to hospital. Patients can also send images of their wound to clinicians, who will be able to review the image and prescribe an appropriate care plan.

Remote monitoring through a shared visual record

Lead NHS organisation(s): Alder Hey Children’s Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Islacare Limited
• Patient activation and adoption - Alder Hey
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Alder Hey

Details:

Alder Hey Children’s Hospital Foundation Trust is leading this project to deliver the next generation of remote monitoring technology, which will observe patients at a caseload level and proactively prioritise those that need to be seen, reducing the potential for patients to deteriorate quickly whilst waiting. Clinical tolerances can be set and clinicians alerted when a patient’s health data suggests their condition has moved out of normal tolerances. Patients can be monitored from the comfort of their home allowing high priority patients to be seen more quickly.

Asthma Self Management for Children and Young People (Long Term Sustainable Change)

Lead NHS organisation(s) : NEL CCG - Digital First Programme

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Tiny Medical Apps
• Patient activation and adoption - Barts Health NHS Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - UCL Partners

Details:

North East London CCG Digital First Team is offering a step change in asthma self-management and remote monitoring, with an opportunity to improve outcomes for hundreds of thousands of children and young people. The funding will deliver a free digital asthma self-management tool, available to more than 1 million young people and parents of children with asthma, across the 42 ICS regions of England. An evaluation led by UCL Partners will provide evidence of value, alignment to national policy objectives and the impact this technology is having on access to care amongst undeserved populations. This will enable each ICS to develop their own business case for future investment.

Implementation of technology to support home monitoring of medically acute unwell children.

Lead NHS organisation(s): Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Isansys
• Patient activation and adoption - Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Details:

Alder Hey Children’s Foundation Trust will be implementing an automatic and continuous real-time monitoring service for patients both in hospital and at home, who need frequent or constant vital signs monitoring. Heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature and oxygen saturations will be monitored 24/7 with additional support available to families with questions or concerns. Clinicians will be able to quickly detect signs of deterioration, allowing more effective treatment, and also providing additional assurance for parents.

Improving Obesity Care in Barts Health network

Lead NHS organisation(s): Barts Health NHS Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - DDM Health Ltd
• Patient activation and adoption - Diabetes Research Group
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Diabetes Research Group

Details:

There is an opportunity to improve a range of obesity associated comorbidities such as: diabetes mellitus, hypertension, liver disease, and depression using the highly effective ‘low carbohydrate programme.’ The Obesity multidisciplinary team (MDT) at Barts Health aims to improve patient care, reduce waiting list times, efficiently provide care, and provide patients with self-management support between appointments. Phase 1 is a remotely monitored 12 week exercise plan prescribed by a health professional. Phase 2 provides both the patient and healthcare professional with full access to the programme for a further 2 months.

Developing first end-to end Digital Heart Failure Pathway

Lead NHS organisation(s): Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT)

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Mersey Care Foundation Trust, DOCOBO and Graphnet, Liverpool CCG
• Patient activation and adoption - Innovation Agency
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Liverpool CCG

Details:

Cheshire & Merseyside is building on the success of its existing digital platforms to provide the first end to end Digital Heart Failure Pathway. Out-of-hospital services include virtual wards, long term condition monitoring, early supported discharge for home intravenous diuretics, the PIFU personalised care model, and patient self-care / self-management. These will be scaled up and enhanced so more patients can be cared for in the community.

Scaling remote long-term condition reviews in Essex

Lead NHS organisation(s): Canvey Island PCN

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Doctaly Assist
• Patient activation and adoption - Doctaly Assist
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - GP Healthcare Alliance

Details:

Canvey Island Primary Care Network is scaling its current remote monitoring schemes, which allow clinical teams to keep track of patients with chronic conditions safely and in the comfort of their own home. It forms part of a wider plan to improve digital health services for people with long term conditions, aiming to reduce the pressure on hospital services and improve outcomes by detecting and addressing signs of deteriorating health earlier among recently discharged and chronically ill patients.

Digital Diabetes Structured Education across Humber Coast and Vale

Lead NHS organisation(s): Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership (comprising East Riding of Yorkshire CCG, Hull CCG, North Lincolnshire CCG, North Yorkshire CCG and Vale of York CCG).

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Oviva UK Limited
• Patient activation and adoption - Oviva UK Limited
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Yorkshire and Humber AHSN

Details:

Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership (comprising East Riding of Yorkshire CCG, Hull CCG, North Lincolnshire CCG, North Yorkshire CCG and Vale of York CCG) are delivering a service for Digital Diabetes Structured Education. This project will provide an effective, accessible and convenient alternative to face-to-face education, which increases the confidence of patients to self-manage their condition and make appropriate lifestyle changes. The result is a reduction in diabetes and use of blood pressure medication and also reduces their risk of Type 2 Diabetes related complications, reducing a patient’s need for primary and secondary care services.

Pulmonary rehabilitation in virtual reality

Lead NHS organisation(s): North Staffordshire CCG

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Concept Health Technologies Ltd
• Patient activation and adoption - Manchester Metropolitan University
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust

Details:

The NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) set out an ambition to increase access to pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) from the current 14% of eligible patients receiving PR, to 60% by 2022. North Staffordshire CCG are aiming to scale up pulmonary rehabilitation in virtual reality to serve the needs of all eligible people in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent who live with a long-term respiratory condition and are likely to benefit from pulmonary rehabilitation.

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to diagnose skin cancer

Lead NHS organisation(s): Barnsley NHS Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - SkinVision
• Patient activation and adoption - Melanoma UK
• Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network (Y&H AHSN)
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network / SYB ICS, School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield

Details:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used to remotely support patients from home who have an initial and/or skin cancer diagnosis. AI will be used in 2 week wait triaging, surgery wait lists and follow-up care to identify high risk skin cancer patients. The project builds upon work that Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has already undertaken with the Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network and the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw ICS to identify improvements that can be made to patient flow and referral processes in outpatient dermatology services and improvement in care quality throughout the dermatology care pathway.

Scaling remote long-term condition reviews in Somerset

Lead NHS organisation(s): Symphony Healthcare Services (SHS)

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Doctaly Assist
• Patient activation and adoption - Doctaly Assist
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Details:

Symphony Healthcare Services (SHS) will be scaling remote monitoring for Asthma across all Symphony Practices and Primary Care Networks, whilst expanding the scope to COPD, Diabetes, SMI and hypertension. This will improve a patient's self management of their condition as they are able to receive advice and support via the chatbot assessment. This will improve their awareness and ability to self-manage their condition without the need for high-levels of clinician intervention. As well as this there will be an improvement in sharing of patient care plans. Long Term this will lead to improved patient outcomes and a reduction in the exacerbation of chronic disease.

Introduction of the NeUro App and Digital Pathways

Lead NHS organisation(s): London Central & West UCC

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Social Minds
• Patient activation and adoption - Nexer
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Heco Analytics

Details:

London Central and West UCC will be testing the NeUro app across two North Central London boroughs before scaling further across the ICS. The aim of implementing the NeUro app will be to provide earlier detection of UTIs and reduced time to treat. It will also improved access to urgent and emergency services through a simplified interaction with technology to address symptoms. This will result in a reduction in unplanned Emergency Department admissions, as well as an improvement in patients' experience by receiving timely, safe and accessible care at home.

Digital Solutions for Falls Prevention

Lead NHS organisation(s): Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Physitrack
• Patient activation and adoption - Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Channel 3 Consulting

Details:

This 12 month project brings together the clinical expertise of Leicestershire Partnership Trust, Physitrack, a health technology company, and Channel 3 Consulting, a digital health and care consultancy to develop a new digital care pathway for Falls Prevention patients within Leicestershire. By providing a virtual Falls Prevention offer, patients can benefit from evidence-based education and exercise, and a means of communication with other patients via a patient portal to improve mental health and support. Additionally, the introduction of a virtual service delivery gives patients greater choice in how they can access services and flexibility for the clinicians on how they support patients.

Monitoring cardiac conditions out of hospital

Lead NHS organisation(s): Oxford University Hospital Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Cardiolyse
• Patient activation and adoption - Oxford University Hospital Foundation Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Oxford University Hospital Foundation Trust (The Hill)

Details:

This project addresses the challenge of patient follow-up after catheter ablation for Atrial Fibrillation, by obtaining ECGs in a safe, timely and less costly manner through an innovative technological solution. Patient's will have increased and more comprehensive monitoring of their cardiac condition out of hospital resulting in more timely interventions and avoiding potentially fatal cardiac events. Patient involvement and engagement in their care will also increase patient compliance and understanding of their condition.

Digital wound care management system for lower limb wounds

Lead NHS organisation(s): Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Healthy.io
• Patient activation and adoption -Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
  North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Channel 3 Consulting

Details:

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust are implementing a digital wound care management system for lower limb wounds. The software will provide more consistent wound assessment every time, more accurate capture of essential wound characteristics and improved visual tracking of wounds through standardised and enhanced wound imagery.

The benefits from this project include: improved wound care record keeping, reduction in the average number of face to face assessments and appointments per patient and an improved adherence to agreed optimal wound care pathways and therefore a reduction in unwarranted variations in care. The technology will enable real time views of wound caseloads at clinic, ward, team or service level, whilst having the ability to identify deteriorating or static wounds.

Digitised Home Based Care for Parkinson’s Disease

Lead NHS organisation(s): University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Patients Know Best
• Patient activation and adoption - University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Health Innovation Support, SW AHSN, University of Plymouth

Details:

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHPNT) is delivering self-management support and clinical expertise to patients in the comfort of their home. This is being delivered through a wrist-worn sensor that the patient wears. Clinicians will monitor the patient and can intervene as needed. Accessible, personalised information will also be provided to support patients with parkinsons at home.

Supported self-management and integrated home testing and remote monitoring for patients with inflammatory bowel long-term conditions

Lead NHS organisation(s): St George’s University NHS Foundation Trust

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Ampersand Health, Firefly Scientific, Thriva
• Patient activation and adoption - Ampersand Health
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Ampersand Health

Details:

St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are aiming to implement new patient pathways, underpinned by integrated digital technologies, within the IBD service at the Trust. By deploying a condition specific mobile app (My IBD Care) to support Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The outcome of this will mean the IBD team being able to address the elective recovery challenges. The at home testing will also enhance the care provided to patients; reduce the need for follow up appointments, reduce the time to first appointment, reduce unplanned emergency admissions and iImproved drug monitoring adherence.

The goal then being, beyond an initial 12-month period, to extend and scale across the ICS, in tandem with expanding to other inflammatory long-term conditions between patients often experience comorbidities.

Atrial Fibrillation Virtual Ward

Lead NHS organisation(s): University Hospitals of Leicester

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Dignio Ltd
• Patient activation and adoption - UHL Patient Partners.
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - UHL Clinical Audit department

Details:

The Virtual Atrial Fibrillation Ward will provide close monitoring of patients who are hemodynamically (clinically) stable with a primary diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter to be treated in their own homes. The patient will also benefit from the early detection of signs of deterioration so that the appropriate clinical decisions can be made and actioned in time, reducing the length of hospital stay. Patients will also be provided with additional education and guidance in lifestyle modifications to manage their condition.

Supporting patients to ‘wait well’

Lead NHS organisation(s): Digital First team and primary care within North Central London

In partnership with (partner type and lead organisations):

• Scaling through leveraging technology partners - Mentor360
• Patient activation and adoption - NCL in partnership with Barnet Primary Care Network (PCN) W1
• Outcomes, benefits and evidence of impact realisation and reporting - Healthcare Consulting

Details:

Digital First team and primary care within North Central London (NCL) will be using a population health management approach to identify and offer holistic remote support for patients mental and physical wellbeing, who are waiting on the referral list for specialist care in trauma and orthopaedics, dermatology and gynaecology. The learning will provide the foundation for 'best practice' on how to support patients whilst waiting, which can improve patient experience, ensure efficient use of the healthcare system and other resources.

For further information, please email partnershipawards@nhsx.nhs.uk.