Making clinical decisions by telehealth
COVID-19 caused innovation to happen at breakneck speed at Alder Hey. Alder Hey Innovation launched a telehealth service, working with a company called InTouch Health, which transformed life for both patients and staff.
On 2 March 2020 – two weeks before lockdown – Alder Hey Innovation ran a virtual care symposium with Dr Jennifer Fang, a neonatologist from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA, talking about how they developed telehealth with their new-borns. They had one central hub and are using telehealth to serve a geographical footprint almost as big as the UK.
Sometimes babies have a problem that isn’t picked up at birth, and they suddenly become very unwell. Mayo Clinic has a telehealth system set up in neonatal delivery rooms throughout the state. Clinicians in any hospital can instantly get advice and direction from a specialist tele-neonatologist for unexpected neonatal resuscitation.
Mayo inspired us to act
The inspirational demonstration at the symposium, gave Alder Hey Innovation the courage to fast-track the project as the pressures from COVID-19 increased. Alder Hey gained some equipment on loan and deployed a portable device at Alder Hey, and a more advanced version in Liverpool Women’s brand-new neonatal unit.
Initially, the business use case was to protect neonates from COVID; but they also knew that Alder Hey surgeons, neurosurgeons and cardiologists are continually travelling over to the Women’s. So if the footfall could be decreased that would really help, especially if you cut out the travel time even just across town, to keep our staff on site in case they’re needed.
It started with a ward round once a day and an ad hoc consultation if needed, but it grew very quickly. They went from training the core team of three or four staff to 90% of the consultant neonatal surgeons being trained and doing ward rounds.
The neonatal surgeon uses a high-definition camera that can zoom in close to a baby and allows them to remotely make clinical decisions.