28 May 2020

Dr Joel Meyer recently joined the #UnlockingTheNHS Summit to discuss the rapid development of the Life Lines proect, connecting families across the UK.

On Tuesday 12 May, Dr Joel Meyer, critical care consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, joined the #UnlockingTheNHS Summit to discuss the Life Lines project and how it managed to scale up rapidly to connect families nationwide. 

The webinar, chaired by Alastair Stewart OBE, gave panellists and clinical leaders the opportunity to discuss the topic: sharing innovation to deliver care in the COVID era and beyond.  

More than 800 people joined to hear reflections on rapid innovation from senior leaders such as Baroness Camilla Cavendish, former director of the Number 10 Downing Street Policy Unit, and Prof Christopher Moran, deputy national strategic director to NHS England for the COVID-19 incident.  

As one of four clinical leaders to participate in the webinar, Dr Joel Meyer was invited to discuss his learnings and experiences throughout the response to COVID-19. This includes his ongoing involvement in Life Lines as co-founder of the project, alongside Prof Louise Rose. 

In the video below, Joel talks through how this project is making virtual visitation possible, allowing families across the UK to see their loved ones in intensive care.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sudx08mks_4&t=3820s

Joel also discusses the rapid scale at which the Life Lines project has been able to develop. In its initial three weeks, the project gained national reach. Over 1,000 4G-enabled tablets were successfully delivered to NHS organisations, and this number continues to increase.

To find out more about the Life Lines project, visit our Life Lines webpages. There are resources available to support clinical teams hosting virtual visiting and families looking to partake.

If you would like support from Life Lines, please contact LifeLines@kcl.ac.uk.