• Reference Number: HEY-1277/2022
• Departments: Physiotherapy
• Last Updated: 1 June 2022

New digital app to support you in your recovery from Covid-19

Introduction

This leaflet has been produced to give you general information. Most of your questions should be answered by this leaflet. It is not intended to replace the discussion between you and the healthcare team, but may act as a starting point for discussion. If after reading it you have any concerns or require further explanation, please discuss this with a member of the healthcare team.

The “Living With Covid Recovery” app will be shared with you if the clinician treating you in the therapy team thinks it will help you at home as part of your recovery and rehabilitation journey.

The app has been developed by the digital health company ‘Living With’. It is available to download from Apple and Android stores and is already in use at many NHS trusts across the UK.

You can access further information about the ‘Living With Covid Recovery’ app at https://www.livingwith.health/products/covid-recovery/

How does it work?

You will be provided with advice, treatment plans and suggested exercises from clinicians reviewing your progress. The app will allow you to communicate and work with clinicians remotely to support your recovery safely.

You can open the app each day and select from a range of topics that you feel are relevant to you. By completing questionnaires and diaries regularly, over time it will create a picture of your recovery, and clinicians will be able to monitor this and make recommendations to support you. You can message the clinician with any questions or concerns in the meantime.

Based on the information provided, it will let us know when you require additional support so that our clinicians can reach out. Please note the messaging function in the app is only for general queries related to your rehabilitation, and replies from your clinician can take up to 3 to 5 days.

The app is not a source of urgent care. If you have any medical concerns you must seek medical advice from your GP, NHS 111 or call an ambulance in an emergency.

What will the app feature?

• Direct communication with clinicians for signposting and bespoke advice, where appropriate.
• Access to standardised questionnaires to log and share your progress with your clinician.
• Recommended information and resources.
• Step-by-step programmes of information and suggested activities covering a range of key topics.

How do I access the app?

The clinician treating you will talk to you about whether both you and they think the app would be a useful tool in your recovery. If it is decided that the app is a good next step for you, your clinician or a member of the team will help you sign up to the app.

Once you have downloaded the app on your phone, you will be asked a series of questions to get started.

What if I have technical issues with the app?

For technical support or queries on the app, you can contact the Living With team who have developed the app by emailing support@livingwith.health.

Will my information be kept confidential?

All personal data and messages used in the app will be encrypted (only you and the clinician can see the content) and remain confidential between you and your treating clinicians. Living With do not have access to your personal data. 

Living With would like to use data from the app as part of national research to help understand what post-Covid syndrome is and how to best support people like you to recover from it. Your personal information will be kept confidential by the removal of anything that could identify you. You can choose whether you would like to include your data for these research purposes.

If you decide you no longer want your data to be used or retained, you can make a request to Living With to have it removed at any time.

Should you require further advice on the issues contained in this leaflet, please do not hesitate to contact the Physiotherapy Department on telephone: 01482 605291.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 we are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any information we hold about you. For further information visit the following page: Confidential Information about You. www.hey.nhs.uk/privacy/data-protection

If you or your carer needs information about your health and wellbeing and about your care and treatment in a different format, such as large print, braille or audio, due to disability, impairment or sensory loss, please advise a member of staff and this can be arranged.

General Advice and Consent

Most of your questions should have been answered by this leaflet, but remember that this is only a starting point for discussion with the healthcare team.

Consent to treatment

Before any doctor, nurse or therapist examines or treats you, they must seek your consent or permission. In order to make a decision, you need to have information from health professionals about the treatment or investigation which is being offered to you. You should always ask them more questions if you do not understand or if you want more information.

The information you receive should be about your condition, the alternatives available to you, and whether it carries risks as well as the benefits. What is important is that your consent is genuine or valid. That means:

• you must be able to give your consent
• you must be given enough information to enable you to make a decision
• you must be acting under your own free will and not under the strong influence of another person

Information about you

We collect and use your information to provide you with care and treatment. As part of your care, information about you will be shared between members of a healthcare team, some of whom you may not meet. Your information may also be used to help train staff, to check the quality of our care, to manage and plan the health service, and to help with research. Wherever possible we use anonymous data.

We may pass on relevant information to other health organisations that provide you with care. All information is treated as strictly confidential and is not given to anyone who does not need it. If you have any concerns please ask your doctor, or the person caring for you.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 we are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any information we hold about you. For further information visit the following page: Confidential Information about You.

If you or your carer needs information about your health and wellbeing and about your care and treatment in a different format, such as large print, braille or audio, due to disability, impairment or sensory loss, please advise a member of staff and this can be arranged.