Vic Deakins, Head of Therapies and Health Sciences, and Kath Lloyd, Service Development Manager for Therapies and Health Sciences, from Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB), shared their experiences and learning from the beginning of their journey with Flo in October 2016.  In just 12 months, a number of pathways have been developed, including diabetes, pulmonary rehab, and falls prevention. Patients with poor glycaemic control received motivational messages to support education sessions that they were attending.  Feedback collected showed positive health improvements for patients; 90% lost weight, 57% saw a reduction in diastolic BP, and 76% saw a reduction in HbA1c.  Additionally, patients also gave positive feedback about using Flo, with 88% of patients finding Flo easy to use, 64% commenting that Flo helped them to manage their health better, and 87% stating that they would recommend Flo to friends and family. Positive feedback was also received from those patients on the pulmonary rehab and falls prevention protocols.  Moving forward, due to the positive outcomes demonstrated in the first 12 months Vic and Kath are aiming to secure dedicated funds to support further expansion of Flo across Powys.
Following a quick break for lunch, Niall Salisbury, Florence Telehealth Administrator from Shropshire Doctors Cooperative (Shropdoc), spoke to the room about a new innovative model of care recently launched.  Shropdoc is offering a managed service to their local GP practices to administer and monitor patients referred to them for Flo’s support with their COPD, hypertension, asthma, diabetes, as well as offering some support for lifestyle and medication reminders.  To expedite the referral process, Shropdoc have developed a secure EMIS form, designed to facilitate simple and quick referrals using a process familiar to the clinician.  Patient evaluation questions are integrated into all of the protocols in use, and so far Shropdoc has seen positive patient feedback which they hope to continue to build on.  Additionally, Niall is responsible for producing Shropdoc’s monthly “Florence Telehealth Newsletter”, with the Regional Network event being featured in October’s edition.

Kath Fackrell, Voluntary Services Coordinator at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust, also took some time to discuss some future plans around supported early discharge at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford supported by Flo.  The idea was inspired by an existing supported discharge protocol in use in South Tyneside which previously saw the team awarded as winners of the ‘Regional Enterprise Collaboration’ award as part of the Charity Achievement Awards (read more about this here).  Patient feedback in South Tyneside was positive, with 97% of patients stating they would recommend Flo.

Given this success, Kath is hoping to replicate a similar project with patients from her area, and is well on the way to achieving this.  We are looking forward to hearing more about this project once it is up and running, and hope that it will be as well received as its counterpart in South Tyneside. The last portion of the day was an inspiring and passionate discussion amongst members, sharing ideas on different topics and learning points.  One timely topic was how Flo could support organisations with imminent winter pressures during the colder winter months where the NHS faces increased pressures from more “seasonal” illnesses, such as flu and norovirus, compounded by accidents such as slips and falls if the weather turns icy with those patients already suffering from respiratory and cardiovascular conditions becoming more vulnerable as the temperature drops.  Members discussed how Flo could support the delivery of routine care to free capacity for those in greater need and could support patients to manage their own condition through these challenging months seeking support at the right time, and the right place.