Empowering non-clinical staff to take observations – temperature, pulse, oxygen saturation levels and blood pressure measurements. This means they can monitor deterioration and communicate with NHS111, GPs and other healthcare professionals.
This case study was submitted to the Capturing innovation to accelerate improvement project by North East and North Cumbria ICB.
The publication of this case study is not an endorsement.
The issue
Monitoring and responding to deterioration in social care settings is critical to providing safe, effective and responsive care.
Front-line staff are pivotal for highlighting change to wider teams and managing low to medium risk individuals in their place of residence. However, there is a core set of principles that most systems use but may not be used by non-clinical staff in residential settings.
The innovation
The Whzan blue box contains a digital tablet and equipment to take temperature, pulse, oxygen saturation levels and blood pressure measurements. Staff were trained and supported on site to use the system and set up a digital platform to share measurements with wider teams.
The impact on people who use services
While it was a technological innovation and new to some staff, the innovation was in empowering non-clinical staff to establish and improve base line observations, and monitoring, and communicate this a meaningful way to health teams who could access the data remotely.
Staff fed back that they felt empowered and able to better engage in conversation with health care professionals, highlighting the importance of having a common language.
Risks and mitigations
There were some issues that were faced, including low wi-fi capability in some homes, staff not logging in to the tablet, or low IT confidence. The ICS worked with staff to address these issues.
Engaging with staff and people who use services
The ICB trained staff and provided ongoing support.
Service types where this could be useful
This could be useful in any service type where there is regular monitoring and information being shared between services.
Why we have shared this
This case study highlights the importance of engaging and empowering non-clinical staff and improving communications to improve outcomes for people using services.
Contact details for this innovation
Emma Place (emma.place2@nhs.net)
NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB