Article first appeared in Digital Health London 12.17.2020 available here
DigitalHealth.London Accelerator partner, CW+, selected Accelerator company Lumeon from our 2016/17 cohort for the digitisation of the postnatal ward process at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. The postnatal digital project launched in December 2018 and has been transforming how the NHS postnatal ward streamlines its mother and baby care, which can be supported by 10-13 team members whilst working towards a safe discharge from in-patient maternity services.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lumeon and the clinical team from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital have co-designed additional capabilities to their award-winning postnatal digital solution. Using digital templates based on national clinical guidance means that mothers can receive detailed personalised digital postnatal discharge report alongside a discharge letter in a patient-friendly language, with minimal impact of frontline staff workload.
“Not only are mothers keen to leave the hospitals more quickly due to the outbreak, they’re also less likely to have face to face contacts with their community midwives or health visitors,” said Dr Sunita Sharma, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. “Together with Lumeon, we have worked hard to meet the needs of new mothers to ensure that they and everyone caring for them have all the relevant guidance relating to ongoing postnatal care and concerns, and these enhancements also support the frontline junior postnatal ward team members.”
Lumeon’s new capabilities a) use auto-populated templates based on national clinical guidance to personalise postnatal care plans and reduce variation in discharge information, which can be influenced by time pressures and junior rotational workforce and b) improve women’s access to information that’s pertinent to their recovery, health and wellbeing. The patient’s digital discharge report and letter transfer is integrated with the NHS Care Information Exchange, Patients Know Best (PKB) platform, currently on the fifth cohort of the Accelerator, to provide them a digital record, that can be shared with community professionals if required.
Jenny Thomas, Programme Director, for DigitalHealth.London said: “This partnership at Chelsea and Westminster involving both an alumnus, Lumeon, and a current Accelerator SME Patients Know Best, is a fantastic example of how DigitalHealth.London and our partners are enabling digital health to improve care for patients and NHS staff. Here digital innovation is empowering women at a time when they are often at their most vulnerable, just after having a baby and supporting them to recover at home with their family.”
Robbie Hughes, Founder and CEO of Lumeon, explained: “The COVID postnatal experience is extremely challenging, and this is where Lumeon’s ‘remote-first’ solutions are quickly demonstrating how we can help automate care journeys, in this case, allowing new mothers to quickly recover from the safety of their home. Our recent work with Chelsea and Westminster has been put into motion so we can help new mums and their families at this extraordinary time. We hope to introduce our innovative and human-centered approaches to more new mums across the UK.”