Funding shortage to slow NHS roll-out of telehealth

Steve Hards

GP Online runs a report on the Royal College of Physicians event in London last week highlighting that Dr Mark Dancy, England’s clinical chairman of the NHS Heart Improvement programme was talking down expectations that the Department of Health (DH) will push for a wider roll out of telehealth technologies (referred to throughout the item as ‘telecare’) once the Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) programme results are published. He is reported to have said: “It is unlikely that projects which require investment to save will go ahead initially unless savings are found elsewhere.” Being closely involved with DH, he should know. That’s bad news for any telehealth providers who are waiting for the WSD results to give their sales a boost. Funding shortage to slow NHS roll-out of telecare.