The potentially life-saving device keeping Covid-19 patients out of hospital
Watch Alex Wood's report
Covid-19 patients in the West Country are being provided with potentially life-saving equipment in a bid to keep them at home and out of hospital.
As frontline services continue to operate under immense pressure, the NHS has launched a new ‘Virtual Ward’ scheme to monitor some patients’ health at home.
Pulse oximeters - small devices which monitor a person’s oxygen levels - are being handed out as part of the scheme, which is open to at-risk patients across the region.
Sandy Summerfield, who lives in Yate, tested positive for coronavirus on 19 January and was chosen for the scheme because of her asthma.
‘Saving a bed for someone who’s really ill’
“I think they were worried my oxygen levels would be so bad, I could end up in hospital - which I don’t want and they don’t want,” she told ITV News West Country.
The gadgets, which can be bought privately for around £30, attach to the end of a patient’s finger - and can determine how much oxygen is in their blood in less than a minute.
It is a simple - but critical - process which enables nurses to monitor a patient’s health without them needing to go to hospital.
The delivery of the devices is being carried out by a team of volunteers, who collect the gadgets and drop them off at a patient’s house.
Nadya Webster, from Thornbury, signed up after being made redundant from her job.
“I just know that I’m really making a difference here,” she said.
“If I can keep one person out of hospital that doesn’t need to be in hospital, then brilliant - it’s worth all of the driving round.
The success of the scheme so far has even prompted the doctor in charge of it - Dr Matt Inada-Kim - to suggest everyone should consider buying an oximeter.
Bristol-based GP Dr Geeta Iyer advised people to only do this if they fully understand how to use it.
“A lot of people through the pandemic have cottoned on to the fact that this is a useful bit of equipment to have at home, very much like a thermometer” she said.
Watch: Dr Iyer on pulse oximeters, how they work and who should have one:
“But I would always say that you need to understand how to use it and what the implications are, and when you should be asking for help.”
Can I volunteer for the scheme?
Patients cannot apply for an oximeter - they must be referred to the Virtual Ward by their GP or a doctor.
Volunteers are needed to help deliver the devices, though.
For information on how you can help, click here.
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