News

The Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) has been shortlisted for two HSJ Partnership Awards, recognising work to transform remote monitoring for patients, improve asthma care and reduce the associated carbon footprint that comes with prescribing blue inhalers.

TytoCare is a handheld remote monitoring device that has been rolled out across the region in a variety of care settings and has been shortlisted for the ‘Most Effective Contribution to Clinical Redesign’ award. The product has been implemented as part of 26 pilot projects across 14 different sites in Yorkshire and the Humber and has been in partnership with West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership, South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Integrated Care System and Humber, Coast and Vale Health and Care Partnership.

Meanwhile, the SENTINEL programme is being delivered in partnership with Hull University Teaching Hospitals and AstraZeneca and is recognised in the ‘Environmental Sustainability Project of the Year’ category. The SENTINEL programme aims to optimise the use of anti-inflammatory ‘preventer’ inhalers, which treat the underlying inflammation of asthma, while reducing the reliance on and prescribing of blue ‘reliever’ inhalers and the greenhouse gas emissions they produce.

Dr Neville Young, director of enterprise and innovation at Yorkshire & Humber AHSN, said: “To be shortlisted for two HSJ Partnership awards is absolutely fantastic. This recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication and passion of our staff and our partners with whom we work so closely to drive improvements in health and care through the implementation of new technology and services.

“We are incredibly proud of these two projects which are shining examples of how Yorkshire is a hotbed for health innovation and is committed to working collaboratively to find solutions to workforce challenges as well as achieve improved outcomes for patients and their families.”

Despite the demanding circumstances of the past two years, over 190 entries have been received for this year’s HSJ Partnership Awards, with 123 projects making it to the final shortlist. The volume and standards of applications has been a true testament to those health and social care staff, who continue to push outstanding work and transformational projects across the sector.

The judging panel was made up of a diverse range of highly influential and respected figures within the healthcare community, including Dr Matt Aiello (National Programmes Lead, Education Reform, Health Education England); Dr Elena Bechberger (National Programme Director – LVHC Programme, NHS England and NHS Improvement); Claire Igoe (Head of Environmental Sustainability – Manchester University FT) and Vinice Thomas (Director of Nursing and Quality, NHS England and NHS Improvement).

Following the intense and in-depth judging process, the Yorkshire & Humber AHSN along with its project partners were shortlisted, ahead of the official awards ceremony to be held on 24 March.

Standing out amongst tough competition from hundreds of other exemplary applicants, the Yorkshire & Humber AHSN and our partners have been selected based on our ambition, visionary spirit and the demonstrable positive impact that our projects have had on patient and staff experiences within the health and social care sector.

About TytoCare

The wireless handheld device allows clinicians, community care teams and patients and their families to perform medical examinations anytime, anywhere for the ear, throat, lungs, heart, temperature, skin and abdomen. These examinations can be online, live with a medical professional or can be recorded by the patient, parent or carer and uploaded to a secure platform for review by clinical teams.

It can be used to diagnose a range of acute conditions such as colds, flu, ear infections, bronchitis and sore throats and can also be used to manage chronic conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high blood pressure, asthma, congestive heart failure and diabetes.

The product is being rolled-out to support staff and patients in a variety of care settings ranging from children’s hospitals and emergency departments to care homes and GP practices.

Read more about the TytoCare pilot projects.

About SENTINEL:

In the UK, anti-inflammatory inhalers are under-used in asthma while almost two in five patients are potentially over-reliant on their blue inhalers (prescribed three or more inhalers in a year). Patients who are over-reliant on their blue (SABA) inhalers have twice as many asthma attacks compared to those who don’t, regardless of their asthma severity.

The SENTINEL programme, is currently running across six primary care networks (PCNs) in Hull and East Riding, a region with 40,000 asthma patients and some of the highest rates of reliever inhaler over-reliance in the country.

SENTINEL PLUS is a free online package of resources, that interested GPs/PCN’s can use to target their asthma patient reviews; thereby managing those patients on multiple blue inhalers by more effectively prescribing alternatives.  As a result of this improved prescribing practice, we also dramatically reduce the amount of CO2e being produced, working towards a greener NHS.

Early data from the first PCN in Hull shows a reduction in the prescription of blue inhalers by over 10,000 units, this is the equivalent to 377 transatlantic flights from Leeds to New York.

The full list of nominees for the HSJ Partnership Awards 2022 can be found on https://partnership.hsj.co.uk/finalists-2022

The selected winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at Westminster Park Plaza, London on 24 March 2022.