Mary McManus from Cornagrade in Enniskillen with her Respitory Case Manager, Maura Ferris.
ONE Enniskillen woman is a real trailblazer and at the age of 100 is the oldest to avail of a state of the art health monitoring service.
Cornagrade resident Mary McManus takes her healthcare very seriously. Independent and still residing in her own home Mary is the oldest person in Northern Ireland to regularly use the Telemonitoring NI Service.
Telemonitoring helps people living with long term conditions to manage their illness at home.
Mary, originally from Lisnaskea, has the lung conditions Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD).
With the help of her Respiratory Case Manager, Maura Ferris and the continuous support of her daughters, she lives a normal life at her home in Cornagrade.
Mary tests her oxygen levels and temperature daily; these results are sent to the Telemonitoring NI Service, via her telephone line.
The results are picked up by a triage team based near Belfaste that monitors Mary’s readings. If the readings are normal then Mary will simply repeat the tests the next day.
However, if the readings submitted are below or above acceptable levels then the team will contact Mary’s Case Manager, Maura, who will make contact with Mary and her family.
Speaking about the benefits of the system, Mary’s daughter, Bernie Keenan said: “Telemonitoring really suits our routine of how we provide care for our mother.
“We are confident when using the system and we are reassured that it plays a huge part in the health and wellbeing of mummy.
“It is important to us as a family that mummy can be cared for where she feels the most relaxed and that is in the comfort of her own home.
“It is essential that we keep a close eye on her respiratory conditions and Telemonitoring allows us to do this with ease.”
Case Manager, Maura Ferris added: “I would encourage anyone with a long term condition whether it is COPD or Diabetes to consider this unique system of managing their condition at home. It is quick and easy to use, full training on using it is given and your assigned case worker is always available to answer any questions.”
If you are living with or managing a long term condition and you would like to find out more about the Telemonitoring service please discuss it with your GP, specialist nurse or hospital consultant or alternatively contact the Western Trust’s Telehealth Service Coordinator – Shane McNamee on 07506745709.
Also more information can be found by visiting the regional telemonitoring website www.telemonitoringni.info.
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