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The 'virtual'
doctors saving lives of stroke patients
STROKE patients on
Merseyside requiring life-saving, clot-busting drugs in the middle
of the night are getting them faster thanks to new technology being
used at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
Experts in stroke care at the Royal have introduced the first
'telemedicine service' in Merseyside, beaming on-call consultants on
screens from their homes to support the provision of clot-busting thrombolysation drugs to patients brought to the Royal between 8pm
and 8am and at weekends.
As a result, the average 'door to needle' time, has been
slashed to just 46 minutes since the service was launched last
April, and the number of patients thrombolysed in 2013 was nearly
double that of 2012. The improvements have helped bring in £250,000
in best practice tariffs.
When a patient comes to the emergency department with a suspected
stroke, they are triaged within minutes and given a CT scan to
diagnose the type of stroke. If the patient has a blood clot on the
brain, a consultant will administer clot-busting drugs to thin the
blood as soon as possible. If this is required during the evening or
at the weekend, the consultant on call would need to travel under
emergency blue light to the hospital.
But now using a High Definition TV screen with surround sound,
linked through the internet, the consultant can communicate with the
patient and staff at the hospital from home. The consultant will
assess the patient remotely, with the help of nursing staff at the
patient's side, and direct a specially trained, experienced stroke
nurse in administering the clot-busting drugs, in full consultation
with the patient and their family. This process will ensure vital
drugs can be given to the patient even quicker than before.
One of the first to benefit from the service was May Harper, from
Dingle, who suffered a second stroke in July 2013 just days after
celebrating her 75th birthday.
When she started to show early
symptoms such as confusion and disorientation, she was taken to the
Royal where consultant stroke physician Dr Paul Fitzsimmons appeared
on a screen from his Wirral home, saving the half hour it would have
taken to drive to the hospital.
May's daughter Maria, who accompanied her mother to the Royal,
said:- "It was as if the doctor was next to me. He was
asking mum questions, the same questions he would have asked if he
had been in the room. After the first stroke in November 2012, Dr
Fitzsimmons had seen mum make a bit of a recovery so he knew how she
should have looked.
Speaking to mum, the ward sisters and myself, he was convinced she
was having another stroke. Her face dropped and she couldn't lift
her arm and her blood pressure had gone through the roof.
I'd much rather have dealt with the doctor on a screen than miss the
opportunity for mum to be thrombolysed. Due to the prompt diagnosis
and treatment of the stroke, mum has made a much better recovery
than she would have if left undetected and not thrombolysed.
We're all for it and recommend it to anyone in the same position."
The telemedicine service was launched following a successful pilot
within normal hours during which five patients were provided
clot-busting drugs, with excellent results and feedback from the
patients.
In 2012, before the telemedicine service launched, 59 stroke
patients were thrombolysed. In 2013, with the introduction of the
service, the number nearly doubled to 115. With 21 patients already
thrombolysed this year, the signs are promising. The crucial
'door to needle' times have also decreased to an average of just 46
minutes, with patients arriving out of hours now receiving treatment
just as fast as those arriving within office hours.
Dr Fitzsimmons said:- "At the Royal, we have one of the best
stroke services in the country, with the fastest times around for
ensuring suspected stroke patients are assessed, CT scanned and if
necessary, given clot-busting drugs. The average time for such a
patient coming into hospital and receiving the drugs, our 'door to
needle' time, is just 46 minutes, but we are always looking at new
ways to further improve our service for patients. A stroke
kills more than 1 million brain cells a minute, so time is of the
essence. Using the telemedicine technology will enable us to ensure
that these fast 'door to needle' times are maintained and more
patients are seen faster, with a virtual on-site stroke consultant
presence 24/7."
May is now receiving warfarin after doctors detected an irregular
heartbeat.
Maria added:- "Having Dr Fitzsimmons on the screen gave mum
and us that extra reassurance that the treatment could happen as
quickly as possible and if it happened again, I would feel more
confident knowing it is available.
We would like to send our sincere thanks to Dr Fitzsimmons and his
team for everything they have done for mum, not only for the quick
action that has helped save her life on two occasions, but also for
the follow-up appointments where they found that an irregular
heartbeat caused blood clots in the brain that resulted in both
strokes.
Hopefully they have prevented any further strokes with the warfarin
treatment. We know that we would not have our wonderful mum here
today without their expert knowledge and care." |
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'Bedroom tax'
eligibility extended
MORE people could be
eligible for a refund on the so-called 'bedroom tax',
following clarification provided to Liverpool City Council by the
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The Government initially issued guidance which stated that people
who had been in a property prior to 1996 and continuously entitled
to Housing Benefit were exempt, along with those who inherited
tenancies from their partner following their death.
It has now provided further information which explains the exemption
also applies to other family members or relatives who took over a
tenancy when the original tenant left.
To qualify the previous tenant must have left the dwelling, been
imprisoned or died and the relative or family member must have
claimed Housing Benefit within four weeks of this happening. More
detailed information is available from the Council's
website.
The Council has contacted social landlords in Liverpool to ensure
that they provide the Benefits Service with details of any tenancies
which may be affected and will be examining its own records to help
identify any cases.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, said:- "We have rightly
committed to supporting any Liverpool resident wrongly affected by
this Government error, to make sure they get back every penny they
are entitled to. I have been delighted with the willingness of
our social landlords to work with us to identify exempt tenants.
We have already refunded many people, and if anyone thinks they may
be eligible under the revised guidance then I would urge them to
come forward. The Government's welfare reforms are having a
devastating impact on the poorest and most vulnerable people in our
society."
More than 1,300 local people have already received awards, typically
of £560 or more per claimant.
The Government's under-occupation penalty sees benefit reductions of
up to 25% for working age social housing tenants who are deemed to
have more bedrooms than they need. It was introduced by the
Government last year, and affects around 11,000 people in Liverpool.
Any tenant who thinks the bedroom tax exemption applies to them
should talk to their landlord and let the Benefits Service know by
letter, by
email
- or by calling the City Council on:-
0800 0283697 (or 0151 233 3009 to avoid charges from some mobiles).
The City Council is urging any residents threatened with eviction as
a result of the under-occupation penalty to get in contact to see if
they can make a claim for a Discretionary Housing Payment, to help
them cover rent arrears.
Mamafit voted a class act by local
mums!
MAMAFIT has been voted Merseyside's favourite
adult class in a 'mum's choice' award run popular parenting
website Netmums!
'Mamafit' an initiative to provide pregnancy and postnatal
exercise & lifestyle courses, has been voted amongst Britain's best
in a prestigious national competition.
Courses are delivered through children's centres across Liverpool in
partnership with Liverpool City Council Public Health and Liverpool
Women's Hospital (NHS) Trust.
This year 2014 Mamafit scooped one of the top awards in the
'Classes for You' competition, which is run by
'Netmums' -
Britain's biggest parenting site.
Over 1.7 million members were eligible to vote in a UK-wide
competition, launched as an opportunity for those running adult
classes to be recognized for their hard work in serving and
improving local communities.
Mamafit was established to support women in Liverpool to be active
during pregnancy and to help new mums get into a healthy lifestyle
after their baby is born.
Paula Grey, director of Public Health at Liverpool City Council said:-
"Mamafit is a fun way to promote the health and wellbeing of women
which is crucial during pregnancy and in the early post natal
period. We know we are getting it right when mums themselves
give us such great feedback."
Mamafit course leader Rob Lunn was delighted to be voted a local
favourite:- "It is a great accolade to be chosen as Netmums
Favourite Class in Merseyside. It means so much more as it was voted
for by mums and mums to be that have attended Mamafit classes."
Mamafit will now be promoted through the coveted gold listing on the
Netmums site, which is used by over a million people each week.
The initiative will also receive a special 'Netmums Favourite'
certificate and a place on the Netmums Award Winners page.
Mamafit courses are provided FREE for pregnant women and new
mums living in Liverpool. New courses start in April. Book
online.
Forthcoming event notice:-
"Come and Sing - Stainer's
Crucifixion"
ON Sunday, 6 April, St
James Church, Birkdale will be holding it's "Come and Sing -
Stainer's Crucifixion" event, that will be conducted by Dave
Webster, along with organist, Peter Smith. The Service will start at
6pm. For Further details from the Parish Office at St James, via
emailing:-
stjamesbirkdale@gmail.com
or calling them on:- 01704 564 907 from Monday to Thursday, 9am to
1pm.
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