'Remote nurse' aids home patients

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The remote nurse system aims to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions

A "remote nurse" system which allows patients to monitor their own health at home is being tested in Cornwall.

Participants enter their data into the equipment using a touch screen. The information is then sent to community nurses to be analysed.

The county has received more than £5m from the government to pay for the project, which 1,400 patients are expected to take part in.

If the scheme is successful there are plans to roll it out across England.

The aim of the remote nurse project is to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.

Elizabeth Stuart is one of the patients taking part in the trial.

It makes the patient more independent and able to support themselves Helen Lyndon, nurse consultant

She has diabetes, heart problems and a condition which causes breathing difficulties.

She collects her medical data by putting an electronic clip on her finger.

This is connected to a small computer which stores the results and sends them to her community nurse for analysis.

Ms Stuart said she preferred using the equipment to going to the doctor.

"It gives you peace of mind. You know if you're not feeling well that if you do all the stuff on the machine then it goes straight through to the computer and then you get seen to."

Nurse consultant Helen Lyndon says: "The big advantage is that it makes the patient more independent and able to support themselves, and if there is a problem developing we can pick it up early."

Andrew Forrest, from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust, agreed.

"The patient will be able to understand their own condition better... it should affect their quality of life," he said.

Cornwall is one of three areas involved in the remote nurse trial, along with Kent and the London borough of Newham.