A mother who developed a life-threatening condition after giving birth is among hundreds of hospital patients receiving rapid medical intervention triggered by a pioneering smartphone app.
Afia Ahmed, 38, from Hampstead, suffered complications following the delivery of her daughter Aleeza by emergency Caesarean at the Royal Free hospital last month.
She developed the whole-body infection sepsis during labour, which led to acute kidney injury. This was detected by the Streams app, which then sent text alerts to specialist kidney doctors, allowing them to intervene quickly.
The hospital has led the way in NHS technological innovation by signing a five-year deal with Google’s sister technology company DeepMind to trial Streams.
It monitors patient blood tests and other investigations and alerts hospital staff to unusual results. An average of 11 patients a day have benefited since it was introduced last month.
A doctor was able to provide advice on adjustment of Mrs Ahmed’s antibiotics, intravenous fluid treatment and on stopping pain killers that might put a strain on her kidneys.
Mrs Ahmed, who also has a seven-year-old daughter, Arifa, with her husband Raquib, said: “It was great that a kidney doctor could be there to help with my treatment.
“I was really unwell so I didn’t know what was going on all the time, but it was good to know I had a range of different specialists taking care of me. I’m really pleased that I am now at home, enjoying my time with Aleeza.”
Acute kidney injury affects one in six in-patients and is often an indication that a patient is deteriorating and needs additional care. However, it can be difficult to detect and treat quickly. It is thought that 40,000 deaths a year in England could be linked to AKI.
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At least 26 doctors and nurses at the Royal Free are now using Streams, which is alerting them to an average of 11 patients a day at risk of AKI. There are plans to expand the app to be able to detect sepsis and organ failure.
Nurses who have used Streams report that it has been saving them up to two hours every day, which means they can spend more time with patients. Staff can respond in minutes rather than hours or days to concerning test results, potentially saving lives.
Sarah Stanley, a consultant nurse who leads the patients at risk and resuscitation team, said: “Streams is saving us a significant amount of time every day. The instant alerts about some of our most vulnerable patients mean we can get the right care to the right patients much more quickly.”
Chris Laing, a renal consultant, said: “On one day this week, the app alerted us to 11 patients, ranging from a young cancer patient to an elderly patient suffering life-threatening dehydration, who were at risk of developing AKI.
“These patients had a range of conditions and without the app it would have taken our staff much longer to realise they were developing kidney problems. The app enabled us to monitor our patients’ kidney function, detect kidney failure early and intervene rapidly to manage complications and accelerate their recovery.”
