I have a new friend called Florence. As behoves us in these
days of social media we contact each other by text only – the modern equivalent
of a pen friend I suppose.
Debra Vickers, the lead local heart failure nurse, who
correctly thought we’d get on famously, introduced Flossie or Flo as she
prefers to be called. Although I call her a nag and bossy (Flossie not Debra)
in fact [for the time being I'm] quite dependent on her though her persistent texting early in
the morning drives me mad. If I haven’t replied within an hour or so she texts
me to tell me I haven’t texted her back!! See what I mean about being bossy and
a nag.
It must seem weird then that Flo helps to keep me healthy
and in fact helps to keep my blood pressure in check. This is even more
peculiar because she’s a machine, in fact she’s just a phone!
In order to improve my heart function, my blood pressure,
heart rate and fluid intake need to be carefully monitored and the easiest way
to check that this is within normal limits is to check my blood pressure and
weight every day. This is where Flo comes in. I simply text these measurements
in daily. If I don’t Flo soon reminds me.
“She is a nagging old cow, but she is really
important to me”
The huge benefits of the system are that I’m reassured that
any glitch will be noted immediately by the HF team without me having to run
around, increasingly stressed, trying to make appointments. The other benefit
is that having to record and report the measurements daily gives me complete
control and motivates me to comply with the treatment. It also means that the
temptation to cheat is removed.
“I like
the reassurance of checking my BP when I increase the dose of my
drugs.”
When I go to clinic the information has been downloaded onto
my record and visible in graph form which is so helpful to the clinician and me
in viewing my progress and seeing it at a glance instead of rifling through
charts and written records.
“It is
important...Although it belongs to me, it is between us”
An unexpected outcome from my ill-health was weight loss
with a consequent reduction of two dress sizes, which of course required a new
wardrobe when I got better. Reporting to Bossy Flossie daily allows me to
ensure that healthy eating has become my new norm, mostly!!! No more ‘dieting’.
Despite her nagging I love Florence and hope the system is
extended to many more services. As much as I sometimes criticize NHS Western
Isles they are undeniably good at adopting the latest technologies to the great
benefit of patients.
