Only 464 out of 2,000 home health monitors purchased for a UK scheme are actually being used by patients, according to a BBC story. The other three quarters remain in storage, says the article. The units cost a total of £3.2 million and were introduced in October 2010. There was “little evidence” that the units represented value for money said North Yorkshire’s Local Medical Committee.

The report did not say which chronic diseases the remote monitoring service was aimed at. Or whether it was based on cellular or fixed network connections. This particular scheme has been the subject of criticism before for its slow take-up. This latest report shows take-up has not improved.

The low usage figure was included in a confidential NHS internal audit and obtained by the BBC which said there was a lack of evidence to explain the purchase of 2,000 health monitors. The BBC report also said the scheme faced little enthusiasm from local doctors unconvinced by the effectiveness of remote monitoring.

NHS North Yorkshire and York defended the purchases. The region was one of the first to adopt telehealth technology and would have lost the opportunity to receive funding if it had not acted quickly, it said.