Respiratory Virtual Ward

You have consented to being referred to the Respiratory Virtual Ward Team who will provide you with short term support and monitoring.

You or your carer have been given this information leaflet, diary, and selfmonitoring equipment because you have been discharged from hospital following treatment for COPD or suspected COPD.

Monitoring the level of oxygen in your blood over the next 14 days will let us know if you are becoming more unwell and need some additional treatment.

We will also ask you a series of daily questions which will help us with your care.

Getting started with Telehealth monitoring

You will be called within 24 hours by one of our Telehealth team to check your contact details, ensure you are happy to proceed and understand what you need to do.

During this call you will be asked to consent to our nurses accessing your medical notes and allowing them to share information about your care with your GP.

For the next 7 days, you will be required to submit readings and answer questions on a daily basis using the Docobo smartphone application. Please try to do this by 11.00am each day.

You will either be using your own smartphone or will be provided with one by the Telehealth service which will need to be returned at the end of your monitoring. Further guidance on downloading and using the DocoboAPP™ can be found from pages 7-9 of this guide. Our Telehealth nurses will contact you if they have any concerns, they may also ask you to take additional readings.

We recommend repeating your oxygen readings a few times each day and giving us a call if you are worried. We have included a monitoring diary on page 6 of this guide which may help you keep track of your readings.

If you are using your own smartphone to access the service, you are responsible for any network charges to send and receive information to/from our hub.

How to use the oximeter

• Make sure you have been resting for at least five minutes before taking your measurement and make sure your hands are warm
• Place the oximeter device on your middle or index finger
• Press the power button to switch the oximeter on
• Your pulse reading is the number at the top right
• Your oxygen reading is the number on the bottom next to the red lines
• The reading takes time to steady. Keep the oximeter in place for at least a minute, or longer if the reading keeps changing
• If you have been prescribed oxygen to be worn for at least 16 hours per day, please make sure that you are wearing your oxygen when you are taking your reading
• If you only use oxygen when exercising please make sure that your oxygen is removed at least 30 minutes before measuring your oxygen levels.

Using the diary to record oxygen readings

As well as sending in your daily readings and answering the questions, you can use the diary on page 6 to record additional readings throughout the day.

Three times a day is ideal - for example when you normally eat in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening.

You can also record any changes in how you are feeling and your breathing.

On day one record the date and the number of days since you first developed symptoms.

How to enter your readings and answer questions using Docobo App

To start entering readings and answering your scheduled questions, press the on-screen OK button (Android) or click on the Questions icon (Apple/iOS). This will take you through to your questions and readings for the day.

To enter your oxygen reading and on your app, please follow:

Tap the left and right arrows, selecting the right one increases the value whereas Selecting the left will decrease the value.

Press the OK button when you have finished.

Or slide the scale bar from left to right.

Sliding to the right increases the value whereas sliding to the left decreases the value.

Press the OK button when you have finished.

If you have been asked to input your blood pressure readings or your temperature, you would have to follow the screen and input the readings the same way shown above.

You will also be asked a set of daily questions, please click on the answers that apply to you:

Telehealth will be monitoring you between the hours of 9.00am to 5.00pm 7 days per week

If you are unsure what to do, have any questions about how to monitor your oxygen, or require any further advice, please contact the Telehealth Team on 0151 285 4651. (Answer-phone service only at weekends).

Calls will be charged at your standard mobile or landline rate.

Telehealth is not an emergency service, so if you start to feel more unwell outside these hours please contact your GP, 111 or 999.

Actions to take outside Telehealth monitoring hours

If your oxygen reading is 95% and above then this is normal, continue to submit daily readings.

If your oxygen reading is between 93% and 94% contact your GP or 111 for advice.

If your oxygen reading is 92% or below, please ring 999.

What to do if you feel unwell or experience the following symptoms

Ring 999 if:

• You are unable to complete short sentences at rest due to breathlessness
• Your breathing suddenly worsens within an hour.

OR if these more general signs of serious illness develop:

• You are coughing up blood
• You have blue lips or blue face
• You feel cold and sweaty with pale or blotchy skin
• You have a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it
• You collapse or faint
• You become agitated, confused or very drowsy
• You have stopped peeing or are peeing much less than usual.

Ring your GP or NHS 111 as soon as possible if:

• You slowly start to feel more unwell or more breathless for two or more hours
• You are having difficulty breathing when getting up to go to the toilet or similar
• You sense that something is wrong (general weakness, extreme tiredness, loss of appetite, reduced urine output, unable to do simple tasks like washing and dressing or making food).

How to return the oximeter

You will be contacted on day 14 to discuss your discharge from the Telehealth service and returning the oximeter. You should carefully wipe over the pulse oximeter with a soft, clean, dry cloth. (Please do not share the oximeter with anyone inside or outside your household).

Please return your oximeter to the hospital radiology department when attending your follow up chest x-ray appointment.

To request this information in an alternative format or language please call 0151 285 4651.

Our PALS and Complaints Team provides support, information and advice to service users, carers and their families to assist in resolving issues or concerns relating to the services of the Trust. We would also really like to hear about your positive experiences with our services.

Tel: 0151 471 2377 or freephone 0800 328 2941.

Email: palsandcomplaints@merseycare.nhs.uk.

To learn more about the Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust’s privacy notice please follow the link below: www.merseycare.nhs.uk/about-us/privacy-notice

Contact details

Health Technology Team (Telehealth)
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
2 Floor Innovation Park
Digital Way
Liverpool
L7 9NJ
Tel: 0151 285 4651