In summer 2009, the English, Welsh and Scottish Paediatric Service identified a number of important clinical needs within the service. One of those needs - for improved management in the community of children with long-term condition - is described below. The Service also suggested desired solutions, the business opportunities they might present and other requirements that might be needed to bring the concept to market.
Description
Improved care in the community and quality of life for children with profound learning and physical difficulties.
So, here's what the Paediatric Service said:
Wouldn't it be great if children with profound learning and physical difficulties who have long term conditions could be managed more effectively in the community and have their quality of life increased
What they said about the need:
Some children with profound and multiple disabilities require twenty-four hour monitoring and care management. These children will need a vast amount of equipment (eg oxygen, external feeding pumps, suction, hoist and sling) taken with them wherever they go (eg school, respite, home). Equipment is usually individual and not integrated, and some of the equipment is not made to be portable. The planning around the child going out on normal daily activities such as going to school can be like planning for an expedition, causing stress, intrusion on family life, burden of care, increased paper work etc etc.
The need is for smaller, lightweight, highly portable monitoring equipment if we are to improve the quality of life for these children and their carers. More children with chronic and profound disabilities survive and their needs are overlooked by industry. Where lifestyle activities of the child are restricted due to their disability there is a need to design a new type of wheelchair (or chair or buggy) which will be intelligent enough to monitor the child's vital signs and also be able to integrate or carry clinical and personal care equipment.
The chair should be lightweight, easy to carry and store and be able to give readouts of clinical information. It should integrate feeding devices, suction and monitoring, include a scale and be easily adaptable for a growing child.
Information gathering and sharing is also needed. If the chair could also recline to a safe position suitable to carry out minor procedures (such as changing a feed line) that would be useful.
It is important that the chair/buggy provides sufficient space to allow access to care for the child as well as weigh the child, allow toilet training, use of public transport etc.
To register, please see:
http://competitions.nic.nhs.uk/ChallengeList.aspx