Elderly to be monitored remotely

Northern Ireland seeking suppliers for service to monitor long-term care patients

Remote monitoring service will benefit the long-term infirm

Health authorities in Northern Ireland are seeking suppliers for a service to remotely monitor the health of 5,000 patients with long-term medical conditions.

In January this year Northern Ireland health minister Michael McGimpsey established a European Centre for Connected Health, which will receive government funding to promote healthcare technology in the region.

The centre aims to have technology in place by 2011 that will help remotely monitor the vital signs of an increasingly older demographic of patients with long-term conditions such as congestive heart failure and diabetes. After 2011, the service may be extended into cancer treatment.

The contract is for the delivery, installation, commissioning and maintenance of the equipment, as well as associated training, and retention and analysis of the information itself.

It specifies the development of user-friendly system interfaces, as well as an alert system.

Health authorities will identify those who could benefit most from the system by a variety of methodologies including care worker feedback, seriousness of condition and age of patient.

The centre said it has been engaged in a detailed consultation exercise with local care professionals and managers over the past few months about the operation of the remote monitoring service, and has encountered "considerable commitment and enthusiasm".

The formal procurement process will begin later this summer, with contracts being awarded by the end of the year, and the service going live in early 2009.