Pilot utilises tech to support digital access for kidney patients

A pilot project launched by South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust is utilising technology to support digital access for kidney patients, helping them get online and access health information more easily.

The project was launched within the Renal Unit at Sunderland Royal Hospital in late November 2024 and is expected to last for 12 months, with four patients the first to be given their own tablet to take home.

They will use the tablet and its data plan to access information about their health, as well as get online to shop, be entertained, learn and connect with their loved ones.

The project is aimed at helping people who do not already have access to a device to get online easily.

It was set up after Dr Mustafa Javaid and clinical director Sid Ahmed worked together on a study which looked into how much access patients had to getting online with the aim to reducing the digital divide.

Dr Javaid said: “We hope the launch of the pilot will signal the start of a much bigger project to help our patients access information which will help them keep well, feel good and live longer.

“Education is such a key part of care for renal patients, and we’re so pleased our trust teams and all the organisations involved have been on board with this project.

“We are united in our ultimate goal of reducing health inequalities in our communities and we want to thank all those involved in making this work possible.”

Other tablets will be used within the unit itself, allowing patients undergoing treatment to read up on information to help them keep well.

This will include people who are having haemodialysis, where patients who have kidney failure have their blood filtered of waste, toxins and extra fluid. Sessions often take hours to complete, and people attend several times a week for their treatment.

A new hub has been set up on the trust website with the portal set up as the landing page for the tablets.

The hub hosts information on home therapies, in-patient care, the process involved in a kidney transplant, and advice to live with kidney disease.

The pilot has seen Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria (HI NENC) secure the funding to cover the cost of the technology, with support also given by the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, Ability Net, The Good Things Foundation and Sunderland City Council.

Leanne Maitland, digital transformation project Support Officer for HI NENC, said: “Without these digital essentials, vulnerable individuals risk being left behind, worsening existing health inequalities.

“To tackle this issue local organisations have come together to steer this pilot, giving patients the tools they need to access health services and information online.

“This pilot is part of a broader vision to create a regional public sector digital hub in the North East and North Cumbria.”

In March 2024, it was reported that Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is using AI technology that could predict kidney failure six times faster than human expert analysts.