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COVID Oximetry @home and Virtual Wards
Greater Manchester Resources
The information and resources on this webpage are for those working within Greater Manchester on COVID Oximetry @home and Virtual Wards.
Interface with the GM Care Record
The COVID Oximetry @Home (CO@H) Virtual Ward (VW) has been rapidly developed and, in order to enable the “app” interface with patients, it has been created separately from the current GM Care Record. This means that the “go-live” version is stand-alone and is not currently part of the GM Care Record. Access is via a URL and the patient’s wider GM Care Record cannot be accessed from the standalone VW, and so the GM Care Record should be accessed in the usual way. This also means that there is no interface between the two systems e.g. admission to the CO@H VW does not register in the GM Care Record.
GP Correspondence
There are NO automatic notifications to GPs regarding CO@H VW admission or discharge. These will need to follow usual locality operational processes.
Business Intelligence (BI) reporting
BI reporting at a locality and GM level is being developed during December and January and updates to localities will follow.
Information Governance
A Direct Care DPIA is in place for the GM Care Record. There is an addendum that documents the CO@H VW data flows and the security controls in place.
Data Privacy Statement
The following statement has been included in all relevant Patient Information Leaflets to offer assurance and guidance with regards to patient data confidentiality.
We ensure the information we hold is kept in secure database locations in the UK, restrict access to information to authorised personnel only and protect personal and confidential information.
This means that your personal confidential data is only accessed by care team colleagues who have a legitimate relationship with you as the patient and who are directly involved in your care.
Once you have recovered and are no longer receiving care, your personal data will continue to be securely held. An anonymised form may be used in the future for activity reporting only. All health data will be securely deleted in line with the National NHS Records Management Code of Practice https://www.nhsx.nhs.uk/information-governance/guidance/records-management-code/
Greater Manchester health and care teams respect the privacy of all who use the myGM Care app. Our privacy policy details how we capture, manage and use patient data.
Please follow this link to review the detail of the privacy policy.
Staff on-boarding support
This a staff guide which advises how members of the care team can access the CO@H VW via GMSS.
Document: GM COVID Oximetry@home Staff onboarding Guide (PDF)
Staff User Guides
Document: GMCR CO@H User Guide HInM March 2023 v1.8 (PDF)
User feedback has helped us develop functionality of the platform further. User manuals have been undated in Dec 2021 to include information on all the new functionality. Many thanks to the teams who have provided early feedback with a special mention for Barbara Smith and the team at Bolton and Racheal Jackson-Newsham from the Manchester locality.
Document: Remote monitoring COVID-19 diary – NHS England (PDF)
Demonstration video
COVID Oximetry @home & COVID virtual platform demo.
Watch the video here to find out more about using these platforms.
Supporting Information - Patient Information Leaflets (PIL)
Self Care Patient Information Leaflet
This is an NHS Leaflet including advice on when to seek medical help with or without a pulse oximeter. This leaflet also provides information for pregnant women and those who have recently given birth.
Document: COVID Oximetry@Home Self Care Patient Information Leaflet – NHS August 2021 (PDF)
How to use a Pulse Oximeter and diary Patient Information Leaflet
This is a generic leaflet which has been developed from national guidance and can be adapted for local use. It describes how to use a pulse oximeter and paper dairy. Local instructions about escalation and contacting services in and out of hours can be added.
It does not refer the use of an app for remote monitoring.
Document: GM COVID Oximetry@Home Using a Pulse Oximeter (Word)
Document: Using a pulse oximeter to check you are OK – NHSE/I (PDF)
Generic Patient Information Leaflet
These Patient Information Leaflets can be adapted for local use. They contain information about a home monitoring service. You can insert local contact numbers and escalation mechanisms. The escalation points i.e. when to contact 111 or 999 are consistent with NHS guidance and the other PILS in this toolkit as of December 2021. NB. as guidance rapidly changing please check for updates using the weblinks.
They contain a paper diary and general information about the “myGM Care COVID-19 home monitoring app”. If the app is being used more information would also need to be given to the patient. These leaflets do not contain information about how to use a pulse oximeter and so you may wish to combine with the leaflets above. With thanks to the Wigan locality for sharing their leaflet which has been adapted here for generic use across GM.
Document: GM COVID Oximetry@Home Generic Patient Information (Word)
The following Patient Information Leaflets are tailored for those patients who require monitoring with a specified range of oxygen saturation parameters due to chronic hypoxia, and also information for those patients who have been discharged home on a course of Dexamethasone and require capillary blood glucose monitoring.
Document: GM COVID Oximetry@Home Patient Information – Hypoxia (Word)
Document: GM COVID Oximetry@Home Generic Patient Information – Dexamethasone (Word)
Document: GM COVID Oximetry@Home Generic Patient Information – Hypoxia and Dexamethasone (Word)
Document: GM-CO@H-Service-Generic -PIL-for-local-adaption-update Jan-2023 Maternity (Word)
myGM Care COVID-19 home monitoring application
System resilience
Cyber Security:
The CO@H VW has been tested for resilience and no significant risks have been identified. However, localities must have their own resilience plan in case of any system failure. Risk Log available on request from: psc@healthinnovationmanchester.com
Clinical Safety:
An interim clinical authority to release has been granted
Document: GM COVID Oximetry@Home Clinical Safety CATR (PDF)
Patient Consent:
Within the app, patient consent to be contacted for possible future research is included.
Image: Patient Consent for research
Learning Network and national resources
Pulse oximetry and remote monitoring guidance has been published by NHS England and NHS Improvement on pulse oximetry to detect early deterioration of patients with COVID-19 in primary and community care settings.
The NHS Standard Operating Procedure for CO@H updated November 2021 can be found here
COVID Oximetry @home is part of a range of NHS initiatives providing better connected, more personalised care in people’s homes, including care homes. It is being supported at a national level by the Health Innovation Network.
If you are involved with setting up a local Oximetry @home service and need support please contact pmosupport@healthinnovationmanchester.com
A toolkit has been developed for NHS staff together with a wealth of additional resources. For access to resources and more information about the support available to set up local Oximetry @home services, join the FutureNHS platform (login required): https://future.nhs.uk/NHSatH/grouphome
CO@Home SOP
Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) standard operating procedure COVID Oximetry @home (england.nhs.uk) (updated September 2021)
Patient Safety-Netting leaflet https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/suspected-coronavirus-covid-19-important-information-to-keep-you-safe-while-isolating-at-home/ (updated January 2022)
CO@Home Patient Diary
https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/pulse-oximetry-to-detect-early-deterioration-of-patients-with-covid-19-in-primary-and-community-care-settings/ (updated January 2022)
Assessment, monitoring and management of symptomatic COVID-19 patients in the community (linking to eligibility for CMDU, PANORAMIC study and CO@home pathway)
https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2022/02/C1514-assessing-monitoring-and-treating-covid-in-general-practice-january-2022.pdf (updated January 2022)
Supporting Patients and Bed Capacity through virtual wards and COVID Oximetry @home (System letter issued December 2021) https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/supporting-patients-and-bed-capacity-through-virtual-wards-and-covid/
COVID Virtual Ward SOP
https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/covid-virtual-ward/ (updated December 2021)
Further support details of further advice, guidance and training materials including Health Innovation Networks and patient safety collaborative contacts for bespoke support are available on the NHS @home Future NHS platform: https://future.nhs.uk/NHSatH/grouphome
For any queries, please email england.home@nhs.net
Last updated 31/01/22