NHS Cheshire and Merseyside is preparing to procure a new telehealth platform with the aim of connecting with more existing and future applications and hardware.
It has been working with Health Innovation North West Coast – the regional arm of the NHS Health Innovation Network – on gathering feedback from stakeholders and is planning to publish a tender by the end of this month with a view to announcing a provider by the beginning of October.
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside – a partnership of trusts, GP practices, local authorities and pharmacies said to be the single biggest provider of telehealth services in the UK – has identified the need for a flexible platform with the potential to handle applications such as novel remote monitoring equipment or consumer devices that have yet been brought to market.
Health Innovation North West Coast has supported it through a series of steps including: engaging with potential platform suppliers; running rapid insight sessions with stakeholders; job shadowing telehealth hub staff to understand current technology and processes; interviews with contacts such as specialist clinicians and virtual wards consultants; surveys of current telehealth users; and engagement with the local authorities in the partnership.
The organisation’s senior programme manager, Adrian Quinn, commented: “If we get the kind of long term investment and partnership with a supplier (or consortium of suppliers) that we hope to achieve, it will have a lasting benefit on patients and staff for years to come and take telehealth to the next level. We hope to stay involved in the development of the service as it grows.”
