Leading politician admits technology can discharge hospital patients quicker

A Northamptonshire MP has claimed social care devices enable patients to be released from hospital earlier relieving stress on the NHS, with one organisation going above and beyond.

Dame Andrea Leadsom, an MP serving in South Northamptonshire, has recently visited the Oysta offices to see how their company products are helping patients remain independent and active outside of hospital. 

MP, Dame Andrea Leadsom said: ‘It was exciting to visit Oysta and see the work they are doing to address critical issues in health and social care and the technology they are using to help speed up patient discharge from hospital.

‘The government is working to address delays in delayed discharges and the use of technology and data is one way which can help medically fit patients leave hospital sooner and return to their own homes.’

Currently, there are an estimated 14000 patients that are deemed fit to leave hospital but are stuck in hospital beds due to a lack of social care outside, according to the latest official statistics.

However Oysta are assisting with this – the organisation have already helped local authorities around the country to get patients back home from hospital sooner. Figures from a pilot study in the London Borough of Camden showed that using Oysta’s ‘Help at Home’ saved the NHS an average of £1,100 each time the device was used and an estimated £252,000 over the course of the pilot.

Whilst meeting with the MP, experts at Oysta showed her live demonstrations of their devices, explain to her how each one works, this included showcasing GPS locators, falls sensors and two-way calling.

Founded in 2008 by Mario Zuccaro, Oysta Technology is a privately-owned British Care Tech provider which is renowned for offering support for patients fit enough to be discharged from hospital but may not be able to look after themselves fully from home. One piece of technology the organisation has released is a GPS digital device given to dementia patients which tracks their location and alerts family members of any unusual activity.

The use of GPS has more than halved the number of people with dementia reported as missing to Hampshire Police since it has been used in the county, Oysta claimed.

Mario Zuccaro said: ‘It was a great pleasure to show Dame Andrea the work the team here have been doing to help people remain independent and to support health and social care teams with their work both in hospitals and at home.

‘Social care is one of the biggest issues in the UK right now and people have realised that we cannot deal with the problems in the NHS without bringing social care into the 21st century. 

‘If the use of technology was scaled up across the NHS, we could save millions of pounds a day and free up beds for patients waiting on ambulances or in hospital corridors.’

In addition to Ms Leadson admitting technology can relieve pressures on the NHS, Leif Johansson, Chairman of COVID-19 vaccines giant AstraZeneca, has also said technology holds the key to slashing NHS costs. 

Photo by Marcelo Leal