East London Trust first to be awarded European accreditation

An east London health trust has become the first to be awarded accreditation status for its telehealth services.

Newham Telehealth Service, which is run by East London NHS Foundation Trust, uses technology to support patients with long term conditions to manage and monitor their health in their own homes.

Equipment allows patients to take blood pressure, blood sugar and pulse readings which are transmitted through a TV top box to the telehealth team who can provide advice and guidance, or detect serious variations. It is playing a key role in supporting people to be independent and maintain their health and well-being.

The service received European Accreditation status after an assessment team undertook an in depth review of the Trust’s approach to telehealth care, looking at how it fits in with other healthcare and treatment interventions, the technologies used to gather health readings, how findings are communicated to the patient’s GP and other health workers and how patient satisfaction is measured and responded to by the Trust.

Marie Gabriel, Chair of the Trust said: “This is excellent news. I would like to thank the Telehealth team for their passion and enthusiasm in making sure that this innovative approach to providing care is well managed and meets the needs of people with a long term condition. And to thank the patients involved who have given us feedback to help us develop a service that makes a difference.

“They have told us that Telehealth enables them to be more in control of their health, to work with healthcare staff to manage it better and to ultimately get more out of life.”