Project allows families of St Thomas’ and Guy’s coronavirus patients to stay in touch virtually
Families whose loved ones are being treated in intensive care units with coronavirus can now be present virtually at their bedside thanks to a joint project by two hospitals.
St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospitals created the Life Lines project, which allows relatives to see and speak to their loved ones via a tablet using the secure online platform, aTouchAway.
It gives families the chance to meet the clinical team providing care, ask questions, and better understand the treatment set-up.
Life Lines also has also given distressed families the chance to see their loved one at the end of their lives, and, if that is the tragic final outcome, to say their final goodbyes.
The Life Lines project has been trying to provide two tablets to every intensive care unit (ICU) – the number of tablets per ICU has risen with the support of a fundraising campaign that launched two weeks ago.
Life Lines was set up by a team of Professor Louise Rose, a professor of critical care nursing at King’s College’s faculty of nursing; Dr Joel Meyer, a critical care consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’, and Michel Paquet, chief executive of Aetonix, who created aTouchAway.
The project has been developed by a partnership of clinicians, academics, companies and charities who have shared expertise and resources to help patients and families stay connected.
Initial seed funding of £1 million has been provided by the True Colours Trust and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, and the project was supported by King’s Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre and King’s College London.
BT has collaborated with Google, Samsung and MobileIron to provide Life Lines with a large number of 4G-enabled tablets secured by Android Enterprise, which come loaded with aTouchAway. BT has also offered ICUs with a 4G Wi-Fi hub, installed by clinicians themselves.
Dr Meyer, from Guy’s and St Thomas’, said: “To reduce the risk of infection, hospitals are currently restricting visitors, which means many patients don’t have any contact with their relatives once they are admitted to intensive care. Not being able to connect with loved ones is such a cruel element of this pandemic.
“Although ICU patients are usually sedated, hearing a loved one’s voice can be extremely comforting. This secure platform enables family members to virtually be by their bedside, which is particularly important when patients are approaching the end of their lives.”
To support Life Lines and help ensure even more tablets can be delivered to intensive care units across the UK, click here.
For more information about Life Lines, click here.
Pictured top: Dr Joel Meyer, a critical care consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’, and Professor Louise Rose, from King’s College
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