Aliona Grytsenko, Hodgkin's lymphoma patient has spent most of his time in and out of the hospital.
After developing an infection after a stem cell treatment, the 22 year-old architecture student has been consistently monitored daily. According to Grytsenko, sleeping has been a problem considering her condition.
Elise Button, a registered nurse who has been working in cancer and palliative care for a decade, told me that one of the most challenging parts of the job is waking up patients.
She added that waking up people is necessary to check their vital signs and to ensure their safety.
Possible game-changer in nursing care
In Kilcoy Hospital, north-west of Brisbane, a new device is being trialed. The said device would automatically record vital signs of patients. Thus, reducing the nurses’ responsibility.
The device is wearable body sensors that would record the patient’s temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels.
Dr. Button said that the said device is a possible game-changer to their job. She mentioned that it could allow the nurses’ to dwell on their other roles that are deemed more important. It would also allow the patient to sleep and rest properly without the necessity of waking up whenever their vital signs are recorded.
Professor Adam Scott is the overseeing officer of the said trials and so far, the patients are giving positive feedback.
Professor Scott told that the patients are no disturbed in their sleep through the night with the wireless device which has been developed for a decade now.
The growing expectations on how healthcare should be handled pushed and necessitated the continuity of the device. A value-based approach to healthcare provides better care for the patients.
Rural medicine could be revolutionised through technology
Wearable Health Tech, the distributor of the device provided that there are 100 million patient observations done annually in the country.
Ben Magid, the spokesman of the distributing company said that the device benefits not only the healthcare provider but also the patients.
If the trial of the device gave back positive results, it could be used widely, allowing patients to recover at home while monitored by medical staff.
Ms. Grytsenko expressed her relief with the device. She told that the device could give her the opportunity to check her status.
Professor Scott added that the device could also revolutionise rural medicine since it could be monitored in a command centre and the monitoring could cover patients in a specific location.
The trials will last until June.
Image: Wikimedia // CC-BY-00
