A PILOT project which allows patients with long-term conditions to phone in their own blood results rather than attend weekly hospital appointments is being tried out.

NHS managers say the initial six-month pilot for warfarin patients in Bishop Auckland and Darlington has been so successful it is to double in size.

A decision whether to roll the Telehealth scheme out for patients across the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust area will be taken in September.

The Trust has developed a system with software firm Inhealthcare for patients using the blood-thinning drug warfarin, used by people who have conditions including heart problems, a stroke or deep vein thrombosis.

Patients using the drug, sometimes for life, must be regularly tested to ensure they are on the right dose.

Monitoring was previously done in a clinic, but can now be done over the phone once the patient has been trained to provide their own results, which are then checked by hospital staff and the dosage changed if necessary.

Programme manager Jeannie Hardy said: " "The pilot has been running for a couple of months with 98 patients and it’s been very successful so far – so much so we’re looking to extend it with another 100 patients.

"The service is proving to be of huge benefit to patients, many of whom are working age and on warfarin.

"It means they no longer need to take time off work to attend the clinic to have their blood tested".

Among those using the new system is 50-year-old Kay Dover, from Durham, who is one warfarin for life after developing the disease lupus, which can lead to dangerous blood clots.

The mother-of-two, a lecturer at New College Durham, required weekly check-ups. She said she jumped at the chance of joining the pilot.

She said: "I wanted the freedom of not needing to go to the clinic every week.

"However, without it I don’t know how I would have coped the last few months. My mother and sister who both lived in Lancashire became very unwell and both died within a month of each other.

"It’s been a very difficult and sad time for us all, but if it hadn’t been for the Telehealth scheme, and being able to phone my results in, I wouldn’t have been able to go to Lancashire and spend those precious last days and weeks with them."