Co-developed with Imagineear Health, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and CW+ have launched the Acute COVID app to support staff redeployed to care for COVID-19 patients.

The app includes a detailed guide for both nurses and doctors, including defining stages of COVID-19, hospital admission, advanced care management, in-hospital treatments and providing staff with critical information on triage at A&E.

“Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have launched the Acute COVID app.“

Non-invasive ventilation training is incorporated on the app, which was successfully initiated at the Trust during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the vast number of patients requiring treatment, non-invasive ventilation therapies such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) were administered by professionals who would not typically utilise these procedures, thanks to the training. This strategy, if properly adopted, has the potential to reduce bed days and eliminate the need for invasive mechanical ventilation.

Respiratory registrar & medical education fellow at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Ryan Dhunnookchand, stated: “During the first wave of COVID-19 in early 2020, we quickly realised that there were not enough staff with the specialist skills required to care for COVID-19 patients and we had to rapidly train and redeploy many staff members across our hospitals. The goal was to develop a smartphone application that increased staff confidence in caring for COVID-19 patients, including setting up CPAP circuits and provided an aid to troubleshooting problems that might arise, particularly when skilled staff may not be readily available to assist and thereby to improve patient safety. Working with Imagineear and supported by a generous grant from Pfizer, we are pleased to be able to make this innovative and educational resource freely available to help all NHS Trusts and healthcare providers.”

Respiratory nurse specialist at the Trust, Niamh Woolven, stated: “The Acute COVID app was designed by staff for staff. The information on caring for patients with CPAP and definitions of COVID have been instrumental for nurses who have been redeployed during the pandemic, it’s great to see our work become available via the app for nurses across the country who are looking to learn about non-invasive ventilation.”