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Patients who need access to cardiac rehabilitation will have the opportunity to join a new innovative rehabilitation programme.

Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) is working in partnership with South Yorkshire Integrated Care System (ICS) to support the roll out of a new integrated health monitoring app called Active^†me REMOTE to help patients with their recovery. The ICS has been successful in securing NHS funding as part of the Digital Partnership Awards. This new rehabilitation programme could benefit more than 1200 patients across South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.

Patients will be able to exercise safely, monitor their health, receive structured educational materials, and track their progress via the app, alongside attending virtual live exercise classes. Face-to-face service options will remain in place and will be offered live or as pre-recorded sessions directly via the app. The digital service offers a more flexible approach, in particular to patients who might struggle to travel to a hospital or find a suitable time to access classes due to their work and personal obligations.

Initially the new service will be implemented across three trusts including Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust and Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust with ambitions to offer the digital service across the whole region. The AHSN will also help with the evaluation of the project and to create some video-based educational materials on how to use the app and its benefits.

Nichola Vovk, Programme Manager at Yorkshire & Humber AHSN, said: “This is a unique opportunity to develop service transformation in line with digital aspirations set out in the NHS Long Term Plan that meets the needs of patients within the ICS footprint. Allowing patients to take ownership of their own recovery and minimising the burden of travelling will offer a newfound freedom to patients, meaning they can access classes at a time that suits them and is a big step towards reducing carbon emissions.”

Dr Richard Cullen, a GP in Rotherham and lead for Digital Services at the ICS, said: “It is great that we are able to add this new app to our range of rehabilitation options to help people get back to as full a life as possible after their heart attack or heart surgery. Cardiac rehabilitation reduces the risk of having another heart event and has a positive impact on wellbeing and quality of life. This digital service will support more people, particularly patients who might find it difficult to attend face to face classes”.

Active^†me REMOTE is a medically certified solution developed by Aseptika, which empowers patients to take charge of their own recovery, providing them with standard cardiac rehabilitation care, which includes guidance on safe exercise and education on risk factors and lifestyle changes.

Kevin Auton, Managing Director at Aseptika, said: “We are delighted to work alongside the South Yorkshire ICS and to support the amazing people delivering cardiac rehabilitation to their patients by using technology-enabled care. The last report by the National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation (NACR) recommends the use of hybrid delivery of this vital service. As the Leads for Cardiac Rehabilitation begin to implement Active^†me REMOTE with their patients, this hybrid delivery process evolves at its own pace and in its own way and is tailored naturally to how the service is delivered locally. It is a pleasure to join the South Yorkshire ICS on this journey of service transformation.”

If you would like more information about this programme, please contact Programme Manager nichola.vovk@yhahsn.com

This video provides an introduction to cardiac rehabilitation and further information on how to access and use the Active^†me REMOTE app.