Mobile health and apps news in brief

Our latest mobile health and apps news in brief features a London collaborative which is benefiting from a regional app-powered staff bank, and a self-care app that has scooped an innovation award in Cornwall.

London collaborative benefits from regional app-powered staff bank

Three trusts across south west London are benefitting from a regional staff bank powered by a cloud solution and app.

The nurse bank, powered by Cloudstaff and the Me app, brings together three organisations that would have previously competed for nurses.

Software company Allocate has worked with the trusts to link together multiple workforce systems with cloud solution CloudStaff.

It covers more than 2,000 nurses working for Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust and Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, all of which are now using the Me app.

The app can be used to check substantive shifts and book into temporary shifts via a smartphone or tablet, giving them greater flexibility in their working lives.

Self-care app scoops Best Digital Innovation in Healthcare prize

LumiraDx Care Solutions’ self-care app has scooped the Best Digital Innovation in Healthcare prize at the 2018 Cornwall Live EDGE Awards.

The company won the award for their engage app,which delivers a self-testing programme for people on warfarin and is available on smartphone, tablet and the web.

The award category recognises technology that is helping to change the way patients are treated, or how they control their own healthcare.

Dr Mark Sullivan, medical director at LumiraDx, said: “We are thrilled to have been recognised in these awards, and we are delighted for others to be able to help us to celebrate all the hard work the team has put in.

“The calibre of other entrants in the EDGE awards really demonstrates that Cornwall is leading the way in digital innovation, developing health tech and the future of healthcare.”

Survey reveals nearly two-thirds of sleep tracker users think they don’t improve sleep quality

A study has revealed that nearly two thirds (62%) of sleep tracker users in the UK think they make no difference to, or even worsen, their sleep quality.

Conducted by Time 4 Sleep, the research also revealed the biggest consumers of sleep trackers are 25-34 year olds, with over half (53%) of this age group either a current or past user.

Jonathan Warren, director at Time 4 Sleep, said: “With so many Brits struggling to get a good night’s sleep, it’s no wonder that people are looking for help.

“Our research has shown that while sleep trackers may work for some people, a large proportion of the nation aren’t sold on their ability to improve sleep quality.

“If you are having difficulty sleeping, a quality mattress should always be your first port of call – other methods of sleep aid can then be brought in if you’re still having problems”.