PhD student wins NHS Innovation Award for his NeoMate app
A smartphone app designed by a researcher from King’s College London, has been awarded £10,000 after winning an NHS Innovation Challenge Prize. The NeoMate app provides instant decision support and advice at the touch of a button, for junior doctors and nurses treating very sick babies. The app, which also makes a significant contribution when there is no immediate access to highly specialised neonatal intensive care facilities, is free to download on all major smartphones and there are plans for a national roll-out.
Dr Kelly, who is a neonatal doctor at St Thomas’ Hospital and studying for a PhD in the Division of Imaging Sciences & Biomedical Engineering said: "Paediatric junior doctors can find themselves in a daunting or stressful situation. With NeoMate you just reach into your pocket and the information is at your fingertips."
NeoMate aims to improve outcomes for newborn babies who require intensive care following birth. Recognising that sick babies are often born unexpectedly in smaller hospitals without a tertiary neonatal intensive care service, the app aims to bridge the gap between regional centres and local peripheral hospitals by giving all staff the information they need to make decisions safely, for free.
NeoMate is based upon established guidelines used by the London Neonatal Transfer Service (NTS), an organisation that transfers unwell babies between neonatal units in London and the South East of England. By standardising the care given to babies in the South East region, it is hoped that the app will improve safety by reducing variability of prescribing practices and local guidelines between different units.
The app provides drug calculation support to neonatal doctors and nurses, who are often under considerable stress during a neonatal emergency, making them naturally prone to prescribing errors. Unwell babies are often given intravenous medicines that require dilution before being given as an infusion. Calculations to prepare these infusions are complex.
Dr Kelly added, “The app is not a step by step guide; instead it provides a series of prompts for staff to consider so nothing is forgotten or missed.”
Dr Kelly initially created this app when he was a junior neonatal doctor working at a district general hospital. He recognised that without daily experience of very sick babies, it can be difficult for staff to maintain their skills and remain confident in such difficult situations. The app was therefore designed to specifically help address this problem.
After winning the award Dr Kelly said, “We are really pleased to win this award and will use the money to continue to develop the app further by responding to feedback from users”.
The London Neonatal Transfer Service (NTS) team has been very keen to develop the app further. Next steps include refining and adding further checklists for common neonatal emergencies, developing additional calculators, as well as adding concise reference information written by trainees, nurses and NTS Neonatal Consultants.
NeoMate can be downloaded for free on both iPhone or Android.