Company Overview
Solcom Limited created Whzan Digital Health to deliver applications which lower risk of health deterioration and raise safety, proven to keep people in the place they call home for longer. We provide a suite of digital health tools supporting people in their homes and in residential, nursing, LD and MH care homes. All Whzan systems link to a cloud platform which is interoperable with multiple local authority and NHS electronic patient records systems. Whzan is in extensive use across the UK with NHS and Council (social care) organisations.
Product Overview
The Blue Box as a comprehensive telehealth kit, equipped with a video enabled tablet computer, Bluetooth thermometer, pulse oximeter and blood pressure monitor. Other instruments such as ECG, Digital Stethoscope, Scales and POC blood tests are available to monitor many conditions.
The Blue Box measures vital signs, records photos, performs multiple assessments and questionnaires, including the components of Restore 2 being Soft Signs, National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) and SBARD, all interoperable with multiple NHS systems, including EMIS and SystmOne. The Blue Box supports people at home with long term conditions such as COPD, asthma, diabetes and coronary heart disease. It is used within virtual wards for conditions such as oximetry at home, BP at home, pregnancy, continence, osteoporosis, pre-hab waiting list triage and management, Annual Physical Health Checks for those with SMI (including POC lipid profile, glucose and HbA1c blood tests) and post hospital discharge.
The Blue Box is used to identify deterioration through regular monitoring of patients. When a patient is showing signs of illness the carer can use the soft signs assessment and validate concern with the NEWS2 assessment. Carers escalate to NHS services such as 111, 999, Community or GP using the NEWS2 score enabling appropriate priority for the patient. We have several NHS studies confirming substantial savings in demand for NHS services as care homes are identifying illness earlier and able to either treat or seek support before the condition deteriorates further. Most commonly identified illness includes Sepsis, UTI, Covid, as well as falls risk, hydration, nutrition and wounds.
The Whzan tablet contains a camera to record photos and used for video consultation on several platforms including Teams. Carers are empowered by the Blue Box to conduct assessments and appropriately escalate when support is needed from the NHS. This has substantially reduced the demand for services for reasons such as “my resident looks pale, has a headache and is feeling unwell” to “my resident has a NEWS score of 5 with low sats and high temperature”. Carers are now able to feel confident they are not wasting the time of the GP, or OOH as they are justified in making the call. This has led to the reduction in unscheduled GP demand to when it is justified with evidence the patient is unwell.
We hold several evaluations from NHS regions across England available on request with some details as follows: NHS Mid & South Essex reported from 230 care homes over a period of 13 months during 2021/22 estimated reductions of 899 hospital bed days, and 307 admissions saved once covid impact is controlled for. This represents 24 fewer admissions and an estimated 69 fewer bed days every month due to length of stay reductions, and mortality rate halved from 75% to 38%. North Central London CCG reported an average reduction in A&E attendances of 53%, average reduction in Non-Elective (NEL) admissions of 67%, cost of NEL admissions halved, average reduction in London Ambulance Service (LAS) incidents of 44%, and cost of LAS incidents reduced by a third. North East and North Cumbria (AHSN NENC) Well Connected Care Homes Programme commissioned an evaluation of the impact from using the technology – comparing eight homes using the Blue Box and eight that were not. Where the Blue Box was in use, there were 192 fewer non-elective hospital admissions – bringing a saving of £601,920.
The care homes using Whzan also recorded 336 fewer A&E attendances, resulting in a cost-saving of £71,232 (A&E attendances) and £82,992 (ambulance services). The overall saving over the course of a year, across eight care homes caring for 230 residents was £756,144. A wider analysis demonstrated a 49.2% reduction in hospital bed days. An evaluation from NHS Isle of Wight recorded a 50% reduction in 111 calls and a 24% reduction in monthly emergency admissions. On top of this the technology has: allowed for increased monitoring of residents, made resident’s families feel better supported, centralised data – allowing for fast and efficient access, enabled staff to maintain the principles of patient-centred care, and saved GP time through the avoidance of unnecessary visits to homes.
Indicative Costs
Whzan Blue Box – £600 (excluding VAT)
Annual Whzan Subscription, per Blue Box – £400 (excluding VAT)