New technology helps protect care home residents by alerting staff to early health warning signs

Care homes across Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) are using innovative technology to help spot deterioration in their residents, getting them help early and avoiding emergency admission to hospital.

The Whzan “Blue Box” is an all-in-one telehealth case which measures vital signs using equipment including a thermometer, pulseoximeter and a blood pressure monitor, which are all wirelessly connected. It can also record photos and performs multiple assessments and questionnaires.

Using the results, the Blue Box then automatically calculates a score using the Royal College of Physicians’ National Early Warning Score (NEWS2), which can be shared with healthcare professionals to help them determine next steps.

Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care System has been implementing and delivering this technology to care homes across BLMK, with over 60 Blue Boxes being deployed so far and the same amount planned in the next 6 months.

Dr Paul Singer, Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care System, Chief Clinical Information Officer, said:

“The Whzan Blue Box is a fantastic piece of equipment that supports the staff in our care homes to effectively carry out their observations on the residents to ensure that any signs of deterioration are picked up as quickly as possible.”

“This technology can and has helped our care homes to reduce the amount of unnecessary hospital admissions and ambulance visits for our elderly population. Spotting the signs of deterioration in residents as early as possible also helps people stay in an environment they are more comfortable in for as long as possible.