Livewell Southwest, in partnership with Visiba Care, are pleased to announce the official launch of a new app called Livewell Community Connect, which has been designed to improve the way community therapy teams interact with their service users.
The app will allow nurses, patients, carers and care homes to refer patients, book appointments, hold video calls, deliver chair assessments, share images and search online resources and training such as how to use a hoist properly.
Nine care homes across the county have been trained and are now using the app. These care homes are Camplehaye, Chollacott, Crelake, Hart Care, Moorgate, Venn House, Venvill, Westview and The Yelverton.
Since the launch of the app a little over a month ago, Livewell's community therapy teams have been able to:
- provide District Nurses with advice over the phone, on correct use of equipment for patient care, raise orders for the equipment and book in follow-up appointments by the therapy team, without the need for an offsite visit
- receive referrals via the app for care home patients who are experiencing a problem. The team are able to use the app to respond instantly to make arrangements with the care home for virtual consultations with the patients to observe the problem, make recommendations and provide a risk assessment - saving a 20-mile round trip and enabling the care home to provide the support and care the patient required
- support members of care home staff by signposting them to video resources which saved the need for a therapist to attend the care home and demonstrate how to use the bed sheet system.
Anna McVeigh (West Devon Therapy Manager), Southwest Community Therapy Service said: "I am thrilled that the app is now live and being used. I was one of those people that was hesitant about digital change and its impact but COVID forced me to see the benefits first hand. This app will ensure that all our community therapy team will be able to offer the right care at the right time to the right patients. It will reduce unnecessary travel, which can be a real problem in a rural county like Devon, and ensure we are able to see more patients sooner, rather than later, when their condition may have deteriorated."
Lindsay Huntley at Venville House Residential Home said: "we're really excited to be using the app as a means of communicating much better with the community therapy team. It can be difficult for us to reach each other by phone as we spend more of our time with residents, this can cause delays to treatment which can now be avoided. Sometime we only need to ask a simple question and now we have access to resources via the app, we can use that to refresh our memories and skills on moving and handling and use of equipment; this will help to support us to problem solve minor issues without the need to contact the therapy team. This tool should really help us to provide the best care possible to our residents. I look forward to seeing the benefits over the coming weeks and months. It will show how simple digital tools can make a major difference to patient care."
