vHDU RCT phase 5
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Virtual High Dependency Unit (vHDU) project Phase 5: Impact of an ambulatory monitoring system on deterioration detection and clinical outcomes. A feasibility randomised controlled trial
IRAS ID
298120
Contact name
NA CTRG
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford/ Clinical Trials and Research Governance
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
Sometimes in hospital, it is not noticed that patients are becoming unwell quickly enough. This may mean that they are less likely to survive than if the worsening of their illness had been picked up sooner. One reason for this may be that hospital staff are unable to check patients’ vital signs (such as breathing rate, heart rate and level of oxygen in their blood) frequently enough to help them decide if a patient is becoming more unwell. Currently, for nurses to watch these vital signs closely, patients are either attached to a static machine by the patient’s bedside using wires, or staff visit the patient every few hours to measure these vital signs using a portable wired machine. It is now possible to closely monitor patients using small devices which attach to the wrist, finger or chest. These devices allow nursing staff to continually watch vital signs data from these patients when they are away from their bedside. These machines are also wireless and portable, so they do not stop patients moving around, which is important for recovery, and are comfortable to wear. In past years, we have tested these devices and developed a system to allow the clinical staff to see the continuous vital signs. In this final stage of the project, we will test this system (with the selected devices) on patients in hospital. We will start by doing a small trial on one surgical ward, and asking for staff and patient feedback of how the system worked, how useful it was, and how easy to use. If the feedback from this first small trial is positive, we will conduct a future trial in several hospitals, to test how useful the system is in improving patient recovery.
REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
21/WA/0250
Date of REC Opinion
24 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion