Virtual hospital visits cut relatives distress

Published: Aug. 10, 2022, 8 p.m.

In the pandemic when intensive care units were full and visitors were not allowed some families kept in touch using phones and tablets. A new study in the UK shows that this \u201cvirtual\u201d visiting did help to reduce the distress felt by relatives \u2013 and the practice still continues to keep families in touch when they live far apart.

Training relatives to give medicines at home to ease their loved ones\u2019 symptoms at the end of life was pioneered in Australia. This week a specially-adapted version of the caring@home programme is being launched to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island families. The practice is catching on in the UK - we hear from Mark who helped ease his mother\u2019s pain and nausea at the end of her life.

Dr Graham Easton from Barts and the London has news of a study from India showing how small differences in the beating heart could help to predict the risk of diabetes developing. He also warns that doctors need to stop fat shaming people to help them lose weight \u2013 and how blood pressure should be taken in both arms.

Presenter: Claudia Hammond\nProducer: Paula McGrath

(Picture: A patient in an intensive care unit on a ventilator. Photo credit: Jackyenjoyphotography/Getty Images.)