12 Oct CATCH app

The CATCH (Common Approach To Children’s Health) app was developed to provide parents and carers with NHS-approved information, so they know when their child needs medical treatment or when self-care would be more appropriate. The app uses information from NHS Choices and is updated regularly, with the aim of informing and empower parents for their young children and reducing unnecessary hospital admissions.

WHAT WE DID

The Innovation Agency has helped to spread the app across the north-west, following evidence of its success in reducing demand on NHS services in the Greater Manchester AHSN region. Development company Damibu received funding from the Innovation Agency’s Transformation Through Innovation Fund, to implement the app in Halton, Merseyside.

• This followed a programme of support from the Innovation Agency which included:
• Advice and review of possible NHS savings from the use of CATCH, for promotion to other NHS organisations.
• Introduction to Halton CCG and subsequent funding of £30,000 to implement CATCH across Halton.
• Advice on measuring NHS outcomes via app analytics.
• Other NHS introductions; showcasing and networking at Innovation Agency events.

 RESULTS

In the year since its launch in early 2016, the CATCH app was downloaded 1,662 times. Of the 284 users who completed the app’s satisfaction survey, 91 per cent said they would recommend CATCH to a relative or friend. It contributed to a 3% reduction in A&E attendances coded as “guidance  / advice only” or “none – consider guidance / advice option” for the 2016/17 period, compared to a 15% increase the previous year.