Smart watches on the NHS for some says Streeting.

I love my Fitbit Charge 6 and Kardia Mobile. I have had a bad year with heart palpitations and three very bad and frightening episodes, but only Supraventricular Tachycardia and ectopics could be caught on an ECG at the surgery and on the NHS Zio Heart Monitor I wore for a fortnight. I didn't have a bad episode while wearing the Zio.

One GP suggested buying my own heart monitor which I thought would cost the earth. I joined an SVT online support group and also an A.Fib group, and learnt about the Kardia Mobile which I bought for £89 and was able to do my own ECG when I had the next terrifying episode from which I was able to get a diagnosis of Atrial Fib and to be prescribed a beta blocker and an anticoagulant.

I then bought the Fitbit on an Amazon Sale Day and now I can track my heart rate, sleep patterns, etc .... all the things mentioned by others above. It gives me reassurance.

Yes, Lisaangel10, We would all rather see a GP but certainly at my surgery this could take 3 weeks and it would be a million-to-one chance I would have a heart episode during my 10 minute appointment.

Just another gimmick so they look as though they are doing something. My husband and daughter have had Fit Bits since they came out. I am not interested. I would rather see a GP.

Casdon

It’s obvious that a lot of people don’t have experience of this in action already, because for those who can afford to purchase their own smart watch or other device, they are already a mainstream part of the operation of clinical services to patients in many areas of medicine.
I wonder whether a fear of technology or a lack of understanding of the potential and the limitations in their use is what is making people sceptical? I’m not sure whether Freya5 you realise that they are capable of measuring core body temperature, for example, which would provide early warning of hypothermia? Health monitoring through technology is the future, and we should be embracing it in my opinion, because by the time we are very elderly, that’s going to be the norm.

Indeed.

We're very elderly -- it is our norm.

Embracing good in technology is wise, imo.

It’s obvious that a lot of people don’t have experience of this in action already, because for those who can afford to purchase their own smart watch or other device, they are already a mainstream part of the operation of clinical services to patients in many areas of medicine.
I wonder whether a fear of technology or a lack of understanding of the potential and the limitations in their use is what is making people sceptical? I’m not sure whether Freya5 you realise that they are capable of measuring core body temperature, for example, which would provide early warning of hypothermia? Health monitoring through technology is the future, and we should be embracing it in my opinion, because by the time we are very elderly, that’s going to be the norm.

Well I think it sounds a fantastic idea. Obviously there's no fine detail at all at the moment, but I'm all for it. On the back of this post, I'm going to take a look for any fitbit or smart phones that could be useful to DH and me.

Don’t have to ask who you vote for Freya5 🤣🤣🤣

I think the help that has happened for diabetic patients by the use of computerised ‘buttons’ is fantastic and probably saved my friends life Mrs May would attest to that I m sure
At the moment I m on the fence as it all depends what they are used for, for certain illnesses it could be a very helpful Hopefully working along with the GP and not instead of
My concern is that people could get immersed in their health and every little change and perhaps worry the GP more not less I think my curiosity would have me checking all the time 🤣

Freya5

Wyllow3

No, it's being discussed. Actually a case where it's quite useful to announce "its under discussion" to get public and professional feedback.

Just avoid the headlines that suggest shock horror millions being handed out....

Well it should stop being "discussed". Its a ridiculous idea, more tax payers money spaffed up the wall by this nanny state socialist Government. The same as weight loss jabs for all those people , who perhaps need more input as to why they are overweight, and really help to lose it, and you know, some personal responsibility.
Yet they condem some pensioners to freeze.

Bit of a mixed message?

You mention "need more input and really help to lose it". Well the proper input and help takes time and money and is part of what you call the nanny state.

But the end aim is to make the nation healthier and able to better work and function and take that very personal responsibility you call for.

I hope we will be able to get cgms on the nhs!

Wyllow3

No, it's being discussed. Actually a case where it's quite useful to announce "its under discussion" to get public and professional feedback.

Just avoid the headlines that suggest shock horror millions being handed out....

Well it should stop being "discussed". Its a ridiculous idea, more tax payers money spaffed up the wall by this nanny state socialist Government. The same as weight loss jabs for all those people , who perhaps need more input as to why they are overweight, and really help to lose it, and you know, some personal responsibility.
Yet they condem some pensioners to freeze.

No, it's being discussed. Actually a case where it's quite useful to announce "its under discussion" to get public and professional feedback.

Just avoid the headlines that suggest shock horror millions being handed out....

Mamie

GrannyGravy13

Mamie I do know how an Apple watch works, mine is in the bottom of a drawer somewhere.

I prefer a traditional watch.

I guess it depends on circumstances. Caring for a seriously ill husband for two years; ours have been invaluable.

I agree. I got mine when I was having tests for various respiratory conditions. The consultant was keen to know how things were going between appointments, so he could tweak inhalers and so on.

I also agree that there is no need for the fancier ones unless you like that sort of thing (I do). For purely medicinal purposes a much more basic one will be fine, and if NHS ones catch on, they will become even cheaper when bought in bulk.

I don't think this is policy yet though?

silverlining48

I only have a Fitbit, an apple is way out of my budget, your Apple in the drawer is a terrible waste GG.

Totally agree, it will probably go to one of the GC any time now.

I only have a Fitbit, an apple is way out of my budget, your Apple in the drawer is a terrible waste GG.

GrannyGravy13

Mamie I do know how an Apple watch works, mine is in the bottom of a drawer somewhere.

I prefer a traditional watch.

I guess it depends on circumstances. Caring for a seriously ill husband for two years; ours have been invaluable.

Mamie I do know how an Apple watch works, mine is in the bottom of a drawer somewhere.

I prefer a traditional watch.

ex-dancer. Really?

GrannyGravy13

Just had a quick look on Amazon, the cheapest smart watch is £17.99.

I hope that Wes Streeting is looking at this end of the market and not Apple smart watch as the newest model is £399.

You would not need an Apple Watch if it was only for health monitoring. We have them and use them for lots of other things, messaging, phone calls, payments in shops, weather, alarms, timers, walkie talkie, phone calls, recording workouts and even telling the time. 😊 That is our choice.
A simple monitoring device for a particular illness would be much cheaper than that.

My watch does most of the things you mention, B9Exchange. It doesn't record BP or temperature, but does all the rest, and warns me when things are untypical. When this happens I usually know why, so find it reliable. I have checked the SATS against a fingertip monitor too, and they always give the same result.

Ignore the last truncated paragraph, not sure what happened there! 🙂

I am trialling a watch for a friend that records oxygen sats, breaths per minute, temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, sleep patterns and step count. It is linked to my phone which can display graphs for performance of each of these on a daily basis. Issues warning alerts if any if the readings go above or below reading levels which I have preset. I was very careful to ensure the data is very securely protected by the company. But the plan is to use them for virtual wards, where a nurse can check the readings of patients in their homes, where they would otherwise have to remain in hospital, taking up a bed.

Everyone is concerned about their health, and being able to understand what your body is doing is reassuring. I find it very useful as I have dreadful white coat hypertension, and I can just show my GP the minimum, maximum, and average BP on my phone, not just for the actual day, but going back weeks, she gets very excited! 😀

These will be used more and more, just as some care will be provided in homes and nursing homes by robots, we don't have enough humans to care for the aging population. There is good technology and there is worrying technology, but this is definitely good. Though at £500 each, providing too many will plunge the NHS further into debt. It needs to concentrate on getting all hospital notes available electronically first, no more time wasted on lost notes. And more care needs to be taken on data security, I find it incredibly worrying that we are allowing the Amercan firm Palantir to run the federated data platform that will hold all English hospital (and later GP) records.

However GPs

I think I have enough faith in human nature to believe that people will use a smart watch for their advantage so I don't agree with the OP's opinion at all. Technology can be a useful tool for monitoring conditions so it is worth considering. Let's wait for the outcome of the consultation before hastily dismissing the idea as a waste of money.

I doubt they are being recommended instead of visits to a GP.

They can't do blood tests, as they are non-invasive, so can't be used for cholesterol etc. They can measure the oxygen in the blood by shining a laser from the underside of the watch onto the wrist and checking haemoglobin. Similarly they can check respiratory and heart rate and therefore AF. I think some models can check blood pressure, but not as accurately as a purpose-made machine.

They won't replace doctors, but can allow people to monitor, say, oxygen levels (or whatever) over a period of time and pass this information to a doctor at a consultation, or get help if they fall below danger level.

So for her it works. Good.
Presumably it will be investigated or trialled first anyway.

Allira

I wonder if this could result in even more calls to the GP surgeries as people may worry about the slightest blip which might be of no actual concern?

It’s actually the opposite in my sister’s case, because she couldn’t differentiate when she needed to see her GP and when it wasn’t necessary, whereas with the watch she knows exactly how high her heart rate is and if an episode is long enough to warrant an appointment, you can’t tell how high your heart rate is by how you feel according to her, and anxiety makes her feel worse. She’s obviously only one person, but I think most people with serious heart conditions are anxious and would be reassured by the equipment. I only have second hand experience with heart conditions, I don’t know how people with other conditions would feel.

As with the budget, I’ll await the detail before commenting.