A UK telehealth vendor is preparing to deploy patient monitoring to potentially thousands of people following the award of a £1.2 million, three-year contact by NHS Somerset at the end of last month. Safe Patient Systems deploys its own-developed touchscreen mobile phones which are programmed with personalised plans for individual patients. The system offers those with chronic conditions the benefit of a daily monitoring of their health and vital signs.

Somerset has 3,000 COPD patients, 9,000 chronic heart failure patients and 24,000 diabetes patients. The vendor’s Safe Mobile Care System was developed by consultant surgeon David Morgan. It prompts patients to answer key questions about their health while automatically capturing other health signs. Responses are uploaded over the cellular network to a management centre. If the signs indicate a worsening of the patient’s condition then an automatic alert is sent to their nurse or doctor.