Telemedicine Approach to Sleep Apnoea

Members of the Medicine & Health Panel and invited guests were treated to a very interesting virtual presentation by Dr. Tom Chambers, Chief Medical Officer of Theta Sleep.

Tom (originally introduced by the Entrepreneurship Panel) is an inspiring figure who spans medicine, innovation and technology.  In additional to his current NHS responsibilities as a registered anaesthetist and NHS Clinical Entrepreneur, he has also recently qualified as an “Expert Somnologist”.

The talk outlined the growing crisis in sleep apnoea care in the UK, where demand has tripled and many patients wait over two years for treatment. His venture, Theta Sleep, offers a fully digital, home-based pathway that cuts costs by around 40% and vastly improves access. The service is delivered both privately and via pilot trials within the NHS. A lot of focus has been in improving the efficiency of the diagnostic and treatment workflow to the point where individual modules can be provided to support NHS bottlenecks. Tom also covered a number of the challenges in delivering such a service.

A wide range of highly pertinent questions were eloquently answered together with examples of successful life changing interventions. All in all, an inspiring insight into how technology and telemedicine can help in a much-needed area of our health.

Liveryman Ted Rees, Chair of the Medicine & Health Panel