Leeds app for NHS transplant patients to expand globally

Clinicians from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have created a new mobile app called TAPP to help transplant patients better manage their health after life-saving operations.

As a result of positive feedback from patients in Leeds, the clinical team are now looking to roll out the app across national and international healthcare markets.

The team behind the app took part in the Healthcare Entrepreneur Exchange Programme (HEEP), an international innovation competition which provides the opportunity for clinical entrepreneurs to establish overseas collaborations and test their ideas in different healthcare settings.

The Leeds clinicians showcased their product to counterparts at Spain’s Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol (HGTP) of the Institut Català de la Salut (ICS) and in north-eastern Spain. Through the HEEP programme, the team received mentoring, business coaching, and marketing guidance.

Dr Stewart Gibson, speciality doctor in hepatology at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Every transplant marks the beginning of life-long treatment, with patients requiring ongoing specialist follow-up and medication. Our app provides tools to empower patients to manage their health and to make it easier to communicate with their clinical team.

“The challenges that our transplant patients face are not unique to Leeds; they are faced by patients and clinicians everywhere. Working with HEEP, we have been able to get invaluable feedback on our app. We believe our innovation can help patients and clinicians across the world.”

Alice Greenwood, clinical nurse specialist at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, added: “Our team developed the app to be patient-centred and accessible across a range of mobile devices. We know this is very familiar to some of our patients, particularly those in younger age groups.

“The app will allow patients to access a resource hub with information they can trust, alongside ways to manage their medication and health. Working with clinicians in Spain has helped to improve the product for international markets.”