Edinburgh Napier academic Dr Pam Ramsay was one of the big winners at the Digital Health & Care Awards.
The lecturer in the School of Health & Social Care won the Digital Impact Award – given to an individual who has championed the use of digital to transform services - with the criticalcarerecovery.com social enterprise.
Every year, over 15,000 people are admitted to an Intensive Care Unit in Scotland. People who survive often suffer long-term physical and psychological issues, but support is rarely provided after discharge home.
criticalcarerecovery.com is an e-health innovation that is specifically designed to improve health literacy and support self-management among patients and families recovering after Intensive Care.
Pam led the development of the website using over 10 years' interview-based research with patients in NHS Lothian, with additional input from family members, clinicians, researchers and web developers. More recently, she has successfully scaled up the website to six Scottish Intensive Care Units, and the website was viewed by more than 10,000 people in 2018.
She has worked tirelessly towards developing criticalcarerecovery.com into a social enterprise to ensure its ongoing provision to patients and families across Scotland and the UK.
criticalcarerecovery.com (CCR.com) provides bespoke information, advice and support for patients, who would otherwise struggle to find out more about the common after-effects of Intensive Care (ICU), what to expect during recovery, and how to find the help they need in their local area.
There is a strong focus on supporting self-management e.g. directing patients to relevant websites, local services for common problems (e.g. counselling or community physiotherapy), relevant organisations (e.g. Social Work, Citizens Advice) and third sector groups (e.g. carer support).
Media include text, voice files and video clips from healthcare professionals and patients on common issues, and a patient blog. Patients report feeling reassured, inspired and more hopeful about their own recovery, based on other people’s stories.
Pam said she was “absolutely delighted” to have won the award at a glittering ceremony in Edinburgh’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, adding: “Our website is the culmination of over 12 years’ work together with patients, their families, healthcare professionals, researchers and web developers.
“It’s been a long-term project and a real team effort, but it’s incredibly rewarding to know that it helps patients and families who would otherwise struggle to deal with the aftermath of a life-threatening illness.”
The university was also among the nominees for the Independent Living Award for its role in the eFrail project, which saw Edinburgh Napier team up with CM and Loreburn Housing Association to explore the use of consumer technologies to collect data for a person at risk of a fall.