12 Tu e s d a y July 26 2016 hulldailymail.co.uk MAI-E01-S2 MAI-E01-S2 hulldailymail.co.uk Tu e s d a y July 26 2016 13

Te c h n o l o g yhelping Marklive a healthyand appy life

HEALTHMATTERSA health app for peoplewith learningdisabilities has landed atop award. HealthReporter AllisonCoggan finds out more

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H is face lights up as Mark McGuireshows off photographs of his fam-ily and a beloved pet dog. WithD ow n’s Syndrome and a heart con-

dition, the tablet Mark carries everywherewith him is much more than a way of dis-playing happy family photographs.

Instead, it provides him with a vital wayof communicating with the people whosupport him.

Mark, 33, is one of 200 people with learn-ing disabilities who have become the first inthe UK to try out a new app called MyHealth Guide.

“I like it,” says Mark.My Health Guide, developed by software

firm Maldaba and part of a trial with Hum-ber NHS Foundation Trust, picked up theInnovative Health and Social Care Techno-logy Award at the Health Expo this month.

Installed on iPads and Android tablets, itallows people to record video and voice mes-sages, display photographs of their lives andthe people important to them to new peoplecoming into their lives.

However, it also records vital informationabout their healthcare, ensuring new carershave all the information they need to lookafter people safely.

Humber became the first in the country tointroduce the app for people with mild tomoderate learning disabilities after a sim-ilar app was developed for people with moreprofound health needs.

Known as Matthew’s Book, the originaliPad guide was developed by Ken Pugh ofMiller’s Day Centre in Beverley to help Mat-thew Prosser, a young man with profoundand complex health conditions who wasunable to communicate.

Trish Bailey, clinical care director at thetrust, wondered if similar technology couldbe used to help people with such severedisabilities, could it be useful for helpingpeople with less severe needs who stillfound it difficult to communicate.

“We thought if we can do this for peoplewith complex care needs, what could we do

Lorenzo Gordon, who developed My HealthGuide, was given a brief to develop a waywhich allowed users to communicate betterwith carers. It was also developed to easethe burden on staff, relieving them of the

and someone was showcasing an A5 bookused for similar purposes and I thoughthow far advanced we were compared tot h at .

“We are at the forefront and leading theway on this.”

As well as helping the users and staff, MyHealth Guide will also help families byremoving the burden of having to explainto every new carer about their loved one’sneeds, their likes and their dislikes.

Sarah Hockley, a project worker atMiller’s, said they had been involved in thetrial of Matthew’s Book and were nowhopeful of similar success with My HealthG u i d e.

She said: “Everybody has a written sup-port plan but the more profound someone’sneeds, the more pieces of paper you have toread through and the information is onlyas good as the day it is written.

“I feel people are more likely to take theinformation using a tablet and whensomeone needs to refresh their memoryabout someone and a specific part of thecare plan, the information is right there.

“This should make it a lot easier to keepup-to-date and although people are justlearning to use it, we can see lots of poten-tial with it.”

Across the room, Mark swipes throughhis tablet, displaying his love of swimmingand how one family member is about tohave a baby.

His father David, of Beverley, said MyHealth Guide was already making it easierfor Mark to communicate with the peoplein his life.

He said: “We ’ve only had it a few weeksbut he’s got family details on it as well asstuff about his health. But the main thingfor us is that it could help his commu-nication skills.

“We think it will be a good tool for him.”

for people with mild or moderate learningd i s ab i l i t i e s ? ” she said.

The trust secured grants from NHS Eng-land and SBRI Healthcare and teamed upwith Maldaba to develop My Health Guide.

task of wading through numerous files ontheir clients to find information which isinstantly available on screen.

Mr Gordon said: “It allows adults withlearning difficulties to record and commu-nicate what is important to them abouttheir health care and about their lives.

“It allows them to record informationwhich can then be communicated to healthcare professionals.

“If a person has literacy problems, theycan set up boxes and give them a picturearound a range of topics like medication,hobbies or activities they enjoy.”

He said people can record their thoughtsand feelings, which can then be shared withprofessionals if they feel unable to verbalisethem during meetings.

“Say one woman was frightened of the

dentist but felt unable to communicate thatwithin the surgery, this allows them to pro-duce audio which can then be played to thedentist so they can tailor the best possiblecare, appropriate to the woman’s needs,” hesaid.

“It gives people a voice and a sense ofempowerment and involvement in theirown health care.”

As well as becoming the first trust in thecountry to trial My Health Guide, MsBailey said she was now considering theap p ’s potential in helping people withdementia or young people using children’smental health services (CAMHS), allowingthem to communicate in a format theyare comfortable with at a time of theirch o o s i n g .

She said: “We were at an event recently

TECH SUPPORT: App developer Lorenzo Gordon, centre, with service users, from left, MarkMcGuire, Jack Rymer, Martin Robson, Carl Baron and Jeremy Dobson. Pictures: Peter Harbour

APPY CHAP: Mark McGuireshowing his tablet to his parentsSandra and David McGuire.

ALL SMILES: Martin Robson with his tablet.

SKILLS: Helen Edwards, right, showing her tablet to clinical care director Trish Bai l e y.

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