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28 March - 3 April 2020
Tele-medicine Revolution: Easing the burden off the NHS Priyanka Mehta
tests and monitor chronic conditions. “At i-GP, we use cutting-edge technology to assess a patient to make sure it is safe to be treated online. We can issue prescriptions to local pharmacies in a matter of minutes and our system allows a relatively small clinical team to diagnose and treat a large number of patients without having to remove staff from the frontline. These patients, therefore, don’t have to attend A&E or urgent care centers, allowing hospital teams more time and energy in treating those who are Covid-19 positive,” Dr. Noorpuri explains.
A virus has brought the world to its knees; borders are sealed, transport has been stripped off and most of you are quarantined but continue to battle physical, mental, or emotional distress. Instead of queuing up to the hospitals, clinics or your local GP when the NHS is already overworked and short-staffed you might consider an alternative; consulting with a health professional for your symptoms over a video-conference without the fear of physically contracting the virus. This process is called tele-triage and is one of the several ways telehealth is revolutionizing patient treatment during the coronavirus pandemic. And platforms like i-GP are at the centre of driving this industry forward in the UK. “Telemedicine offers a clear and safe route for patients to access healthcare at a time when resources are being re-deployed towards handling the Coronavirus pandemic. It allows remote consultation and treatment without the usual face-to-face environment and risk of viral contamination,” explains Dr. Sukhbinder Noorpuri, Founder and CEO of i-GP. 24*7 virtual online clinic, consultation and treatment i-GP offers instant access to a 24*7 digital consultation with the online clinic offering a dynamic user-friendly design where treatment plans are usually issued within an hour of consultation. All the questions are architected with
Dr. Sukhbinder Noorpuri, CEO and Founder, i-GP
images and suitable multi-media. It does not operate like a chatbot or symptom checker where one is required to input copious amounts of text, describing your condition. Instead, you simply have to select the appropriate options relevant to your condition. This platform helps you in diagnosing and treating common medical problems such as urine or sinus infections, common cold, flu among others. Medical professionals estimate that such diseases constitute about 70 million cases a year across the NHS or about 20 percent of the doctors’ daily workload. However, please note that it does not that the platform does not treat emergency cases. “Video consultations allow the patient the reassurance of seeing the doctor and cover mental health issues as well as regular medical reviews. Clinicians can pick up on patient cues as they would in the normal clinical setting, arrange
health accelerator program. They are hoping to save the NHS over £1 billion per year by treating patients at a cost saving of 65% and have in the past been selected to join the Mayor of London’s Business Accelerator Programme. Over the last three months though, Dr. Noorpuri estimates that they have witnessed a 400 percent increase in patient flow in comparison to the same quarter last year 2019-2020. He said,
No requirement of PPE and preventing doctors from being infected Patients interact directly with the system called ‘Si’ which stands for Swarm Intelligence. Si triages patients for free but also helps guide the doctor in diagnosis and prescribing. This means the service is scalable and a small clinical team can treat 1 million patients per year. Remote care also preserves Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that is already in critically short supply at many hospitals around the country and especially at a time when NHS doctors report of being infected themselves without the proper gear. This is essentially what the telehealth revolution looks like. From symptom-checking text bots to more traditional video chat consultations, telemedicine. Currently a team of about 15 medical experts, i-GP has treated tens of thousands of patients to date. being part of the NHS digital
“The last two weeks have been a very difficult time for everyone as the world starts to really acknowledge the impact of the virus. The growth curve of viral spread pivoted upwards once infection rates hit about 100,000 worldwide and infected numbers have tripled within the last three weeks. Patients are extremely anxious and simply petrified to go out and we are doing what we can to ease the burden off the NHS. “Frontline care is and should be the absolute focus of the NHS currently especially considering the viral spread across the UK is following a very similar pattern to that of the initial stages within Italy and the hospitals are bracing themselves for an influx of patients
with severe respiratory problems.” He believes that the UK has about 4,000 intensive care beds and this number may need to rise to as high as 150,000 with the associated number of staff required to tend to the sick. Correct PPE gear is essential for those in this frontline and there is a major effort to put them in place in anticipation of what is to come in the next few weeks. Remote consulting has very few additional requirements. Although, the setup process is complex in order to fulfil regulation i-GP has resolved all potential issues and Dr. Noorpuri believes it is mostly a matter of promoting awareness to patients so they can utilize these services and keep themselves and the medical teams safe. Dr. Noorpuri established i-GP along with his wife and CoFounder Dr Aleesha Dhillon in 2016. Ever since the platform has grown steadily with their physical offices being located in London and Kent. However, their team of health professionals has treated patients across all demographics online right up to the age of 84 years across the country. “Our aim is to change the way patients access healthcare and we are developing several new aspects of online service such as digital dermatology and mental health solutions. We have the vision to offer a worldwide digital care service that is fast, safe and convenient.”
Respecting the funeral rites of all faiths amidst safety concerns Councillor Rabina Khan, Shadwell, Tower Hamlets The current pandemic is causing concern amongst all faiths and other organisations about the enormous pressure on funeral directors, cemeteries and crematoriums. But it is exceptionally a worry for those whose faiths require certain rites, including burial customs. Leeds council, had already announced that it would cremate all bodies, without a service or mourners, following the Government’s Coronavirus Bill. Last week the Government’s emergency legislation to help stop the spread over-ruled the law that made it illegal for local Authorities to cremate bodies against the wishes of the deceased or their families. Every local authority (and the government, should the government take over the responsibility) should be given the funding and resources to deal with increased demands on morgues, crematoriums and registry offices, while respecting the wishes of those communities for whom crema-
tion is not an option. Tower Hamlets, like other parts of the country, is home to minority ethnic community. Muslims and Jews cannot cremate their dead, but Muslims do accept that – under pressing conditions – certain traditions and funeral rites will not be possible to honour, due to concern for contamination. Nevertheless, burial is something that Muslims cannot compromise on. Following concerns raised by different political persuasions, faith and community groups, the Government amended its Coronavirus Bill on Monday to address concerns over possible forced cremations. Under Part 3 of this schedule (27), which is titled "power to direct local authorities etc", new lines have been added. It states: "Local authorities and the appropriate national authorities must have regard to the desirability of disposing of a dead person's body or other remains, in accordance with the person's wishes, if known, or otherwise in a way that appears consistent with the person's religion or beliefs, if known."
It is welcoming for the Government to step up and listen to the concerns of faith communities and cross-party concerns on this matter during such uncertain times. There are approximately 300 crematoriums in the UK and 24 in London. There are approximately 45 general cemeteries in London, 2 Roman Catholic cemeteries and many Jewish cemeteries, some of which are listed here. Before the Covid-19 outbreak, London still faced challenges regarding burial provision. The Audit of London Burial Provision used projections to model demand for burial space from 2010/11-2030/31, but this was based on predicted deaths at the time. It showed a changing preference for burial over cremation based on the increase in religious/ethnic groupings in London, with more people opting for burial over cremation. There is no significant burial provision in eight Inner London boroughs. In Iran, coronavirus burial sites are so vast that they are visible from space. In Italy, funeral providers are overwhelmed, with a waiting list for burials. Coffins
are lined up in churches and many funerals are taking place with no family members present. The pandemic has already killed at least 60 priests in Italy and many more have been hospitalised. In Madrid, the city’s prime funeral home said that it would stop the collection of Covid-19 victims from 24 March because of lack of protective equipment. This week Liberal Democrats Greater London Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon MBE wrote to Dr Fiona Twycross, Deputy Mayor of London for Fire and Resilience. She wrote “With London being at the centre of the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK and the expectation that there will be a significant increase in the number of people dying in the capital as a result of the current crisis; I wanted to know what consideration had been given to how the dignity of a deceased person’s faith will be upheld and how people will be supported to bury their loved ones. It will also be important to consider and
Rabina Khan
respect the wishes of those with no faith.” A deceased person’s faith needs to be supported and upheld, as does that of people of no faith, but in doing so, protecting public health is still paramount. This is only possible by working together for the wellbeing of everyone, with no exceptions.