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The current COVID-19 pandemic , and drive towards shielding vulnerable individuals , has highlighted the need for home testing pathways . From our initial experience and discussions with our patients , Luma represents a huge step forward in our monitoring and treatment of anaemia in our patient group . I am delighted to be part of the critical research .”
Professor Sunil Bhandari , Chief Investigator , Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
of CKD and effective treatment is critical to prevent consequent co-morbidities .
Regular haemoglobin and blood pressure testing is crucial for efficient management of CKD and is necessary for :
• Timely detection of anaemia
• Selecting the right treatment for individual patient ’ s anaemia
• Adjusting and maintaining the right dose of treatment according to the severity of the anaemia to maximise benefits and minimise risks
Current practice means patients have either to attend their GP surgery for a regular test or have a home visit from a district nurse . It has been evident that enabling patients to test their haemoglobin levels from home improves patient experience , allows them to maintain commitments to work and family , increases testing adherence and frees up NHS resources .
The Luma device has been designed together with patients and clinicians , all the while keeping in mind the challenges faced by health practitioners and patients .
Yorkshire & Humber AHSN have been working with Entia since early 2019 and , together with Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust we supported the company ’ s successful Innovate UK bid which generated £ 800,000 in funding to allow them to develop and trial the Luma device as well as enable the Trust to recruit a dedicated nurse to support the project .
When COVID-19 hit , the Luma service offered significant benefits for CKD patients who were deemed extremely vulnerable to coronavirus infection , by reducing their trips to the hospital or GP surgery and exposure to the disease . In response to this growing risk for CKD patients , Hull University Teaching Hospitals , under the guidance of Professor Sunil Bhandari took the decision to directly implement Luma into their CKD pathway to enable those patients to undertake monitoring at home .
An initial cohort of 30 patients have benefited from being able to monitor their haemoglobin levels at home with Luma and all the patients received virtual training sessions from the team at Entia . The patients selected had stage 3-5 CKD and had anaemia , pre-dialysis , or were posttransplant . The device was provided to enable home testing and the readings were recorded and closely monitored by the renal team .
Implementing Luma reassured patients of regular monitoring without the fear of missing appointments and the practitioners could easily track patients ’ health from twice-weekly results provided by the device .
The results from post-market surveillance showed that patients felt encouraged to use Luma as a way of being involved in their health management , with 100 % of patients
Impact Report 2020-21 41