Covid-19 accelerates Trust adoption of mobile technology for ICU nurses | News

Nurses at the Trust have adopted mobile technology during the coronavirus pandemic to take part in “remote” ward rounds and arrange “virtual” visiting for patients.

Staff at Royal Surrey are using robust smartphones that meet NHS hygiene guidelines to communicate and carry out “remote” ward rounds in the 24-bed intensive care unit.

The smartphones – enabled with single sign-on (SSO) and two-way video consultation technology – enable just one clinician linked remotely to colleagues via a big screen to do ward rounds.

Staff have reported that the move has halved the time spent on ward rounds, saved the ICU’s stocks of personal protective equipment, and reassured anxious relatives.

The ICU had already begun using the technology, introduced at the end of April, to talk to relatives and nurses were now staying in touch with relatives day-to-day using video on the smartphones.

Meanwhile, the mobile technology was also helping relatives to safely stay in touch with their loved ones themselves across the trust’s sites through “virtual visiting”, said nursing staff.

Clinical nurse specialist Claire Richardson said: “We have introduced virtual visiting on all 14 of our adult in-patient wards and in our departments and community hospitals.

“The system is ideal for this purpose,” she said. “A member of staff takes the smartphone to the patient and can quickly and easily sign on for them via SSO with one tap and no need for passwords.

“It is very easy to use. After the visit the patient, relative and staff are confident no data has been saved and the smartphone can be thoroughly cleaned to meet our infection control requirements.

Ms Richardson said virtual visiting had made a “tremendous difference” to patients and relatives, and that feedback had been “overwhelmingly positive”.

“A Covid-19 positive patient who had not seen his wife for five weeks was able to see and speak to her,” she said.

“Another patient whose condition was deteriorating had a virtual visit from his son, who told staff it was reassuring to see him so well looked after.”

She added: “The system has been particularly beneficial to our elderly patients who do not have their own devices to have visits with their loved ones and I’m confident it has helped in their recovery.”

The system uses technology developed by Imprivata and Attend Anywhere, while the smartphone devices were provided by Ascom.

The trust’s IT infrastructure project manager, Andy Dargue, said: “We were already looking at using the technology for ‘virtual’ consultations at the trust, but the Covid-19 outbreak hugely accelerated this.

“The Imprivata and Attend Anywhere technology was being successfully used in the outpatient clinics but, in response to the requirement from ICU we brought in the Ascom devices to allow us to make use of the system in the department.

“We had the smartphones on site and tested in two weeks. It has been an incredible team effort between the trust and the three companies involved,” he said.