Telecare's '£1.2bn savings' remain in doubt

DH claims that the NHS can save £1.2bn by using telehealth and telecare remain in doubt, as an expert says it is unclear how much of these savings GP commissioners would see.

Telecare plans are 'challenging'

The DH told GP it assumes at least two million telehealth users will save the NHS £70 to £543 each per year, mainly from fewer hospital admissions.

University of Hull telehealth expert David Barrett, who was shown the evidence, said rolling out enough telehealth devices to save this sum would be ‘exceptionally challenging’.

Increased demand for community care could use up many of the savings from a cut in hospital admissions, he said.

The DH initially refused to explain the calculations behind its claim, but an appeal by GP has forced it to publish evidence behind the prediction.

Telecare uses safety devices such as panic alarms, while telehealth tracks vital signs, such as BP. The DH wants three million patients to benefit from such devices by 2017.

Mr Barrett told GP that although there was ‘no doubt the DH sums add up’, the eventual scale of the savings remained unclear.

‘If we assume that a hospital admission costs about £2,000 and telemonitoring averts an admission, it has – in theory – ‘saved’ £2,000 for those who would pay the cost of the admission, usually the PCT or clinical commissioning group,’ he said. ‘Of course, it’s never as simple as this. Instead of being managed in hospital, the patient will probably require additional community input, so those costs will increase,’ he added.

‘However, I’m still confident averting admissions with telehealth will reduce overall costs.’

The DH originally blocked GP’s request for the evidence behind its savings claim, but published a summary of its calculations after an appeal. It said disclosing the full evidence would ‘be a prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs, given that the information sought is in statistical format’.

Have you registered with us yet?

Register now to enjoy more articles and free email bulletins

Register

Already registered?

Sign in


Just published

GP typing at computer

GP practices asked to switch on data sharing with UK Biobank

GP practices have been asked to share patient data with the biomedical database UK...

Child vaccination

'Serious concern' as child vaccination rates slip and MMR hits new low

Health officials have voiced 'serious concern' after child vaccination rates in England...

Talking General Practice logo

Podcast: GP contract trends, the future of physician associates, cost-of-living impact on patient health

The team discusses what recent tenders for GP contracts tell us about the possible...

GP consultation

GP practices delivering 150,000 extra appointments per day compared with 2019

GP practices in England delivered 150,000 more appointments per working day in the...

Surgeon looking at a monitor in an operating theatre

NICE recommends non-invasive surgical procedure to target obesity

NICE has said that a non-invasive weight loss procedure should be used by the NHS...

GP trainee

Two training posts deliver one full-time GP on average, report warns

Two training posts are needed on average to deliver a single fully-qualified, full-time...