Telephone heart checks a success

The handheld monitor can be used in GP surgeries

Heart checks via the telephone could save the NHS millions of pounds, the results of a six-month trial suggest.

During the pilot in north west England, the telemedicine system reassured hundreds of people with chest pain, but spotted those who needed medical help.

Patients had their heart rhythms monitored with a hand-held ECG device at GP surgeries or NHS walk-in centres.

The readings were then sent down a phone line for analysis, saving the cost and time of a hospital visit.

The government's heart tsar has praised the potential of the system and BroomWell Healthwatch, which ran the pilot, claims that if it was in use throughout England, a minimum of £46m would be saved every year, with 90,000 unnecessary A&E visits, and 45 unnecessary admissions prevented.

And wider use of the system for home visits and routine heart testing could save the NHS as much as £250m a year, it says.

Rapid diagnosis

Many people who suffer chest pains do not have a life-threatening heart condition, although they share the same symptoms as someone who does.

The only way to tell is to analyse the patient's heart rhythms, often with an Electrocardiograph (ECG) device, typically in the A&E department of a hospital.

The project in Cumbria and Lancashire used handheld ECG monitors which can be used anywhere but during the trial they were situated in 15 surgeries and two walk-in centres.

When the reading has been taken, the machine can be held next to a conventional telephone to send the information down the line.

Cardiac telemedicine is an excellent way to ensure that expert advice is available in a matter of minutes Roger Boyle, National Director for Heart Disease

Experts at the other end of the line interpret the readings, and advise the GP or nurse who took the reading whether the patient needs to go to hospital, or simply to be reassured and sent home.

Joe Rafferty, the NHS North West director of commissioning and performance, said: "The pilot has been a resounding success. The response from GPs, NHS staff, and patients alike has been overwhelmingly positive."

The scheme also saved the region money by cutting unnecessary hospital admissions and A&E visits.

In all, 82% of those tested did not require a hospital visit.

The government's National Director for Heart Disease, Roger Boyle, said that the device showed particular promise in rural areas, such as the parts of Lancashire and Cumbria involved in the trial

He said: "Cardiac telemedicine is an excellent way to ensure that expert advice is available in a matter of minutes, not only to the patient but to the healthcare professionals involved with care."

It isn't yet known whether there are any plans to extend the technology to cover other areas.