Toronto, Ontario – October 18, 2018 – NexJ Health Inc. (“NexJ”), a provider of patient-facing population health management solutions, today announces its participation in an innovative program launching in the UK, “Safe and Connected”, supporting lonely older people who live at home in the local community, based on the successful Jersey-based project Call & Check™.

Working in conjunction with Royal Mail, Call & Check, local authorities, and the local voluntary sector, the 6 month trial will see postal workers visiting lonely older people who sign up to participate, as part of their usual delivery rounds, to check in on them and ask a short survey of questions about their wellbeing.

“Loneliness is one of the greatest public health challenges of our time”, Prime Minister Theresa May said as she launched the first cross-Government loneliness strategy. May continued, “One of the best ways of tackling loneliness is through simple acts of kindness, from taking a moment to talk to a friend to helping someone in need. This strategy is only the beginning of delivering a long and far reaching social change in our country – but it is a vital first step in a national mission to end loneliness in our lifetimes.”

Three quarters of general practitioners surveyed in England have said they are seeing between one and five people a day suffering with loneliness, which is linked to a range of damaging health impacts, like heart disease, strokes and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, nearly a fifth of all UK adults feel lonely most or all of the time.

Safe and Connected, funded by the Home Office, is being trialed in three sites in the UK: Whitby (in conjunction with North Yorkshire County Council), Liverpool (in conjunction with Liverpool City Council), and New Malden in Surrey (in conjunction with Kingston London Borough Council).

The councils (or their nominated local voluntary service provider) will be responsible for recruiting and enrolling suitable participants into the program, obtaining the various legal consents and responding to requests for support when appropriate. Royal Mail postmen and women will visit participants twice a week as part of their usual delivery rounds and will ask them 5 questions on the doorstep, capturing responses on their hand-held devices. The NexJ Connected Wellness technology is being used to support enrolment of participants to the program, capture and share responses and concerns with the participants’ personal circle of care, and enable councils to respond to any requirements arising as a result of the visits.

Joe Dickinson, Inventor and Head of Innovation at Call & Check stated, “Safe and Connected is a simple solution to help address the UK’s rapidly aging demographic problem. It can provide much needed support to people who live alone and find themselves socially isolated. More holistically and beyond, the Safe and Connected trial aims to help people stay in their homes for longer, surrounded by their family and friends which is proven to have mental and physical benefits. I am delighted after successful trials in Jersey we are now able to be part of the Safe and Connected trial in the UK and look forward to supporting similar projects in many other jurisdictions.”

NexJ Health’s technology and services are being contracted by Call & Check Ltd., as part of their global partnership delivering Call & Check services. NexJ Health has provisioned its cloud-based platform and apps in the UK, complying with new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements for individuals within the European Union.

Gary Baksi, NexJ Health’s Executive Vice President & General Manager, says, “NexJ Connected Wellness will act as the glue that brings together community resources, health, and safety services around a people-centred model for the Safe and Connected trial. We are thrilled to be participating in this important initiative to help combat loneliness, and help support socially isolated, frail elders to live at home longer in the UK.”

Commenting on the Safe and Connected trial, Sue Whalley, CEO, Royal Mail Post and Parcels UK, said: “Our people are the perfect fit for this laudable and worthwhile initiative. Our nationwide “feet on the street” network gives us unparalleled UK reach and local knowledge. In addition, this new community initiative cements the role we already play in tackling loneliness and isolation, providing individuals with a way to access the local services they really need.”

About NexJ Health Inc.
NexJ Health Inc. is a provider of patient-facing population health management solutions that deliver patient engagement for chronic disease management.  At NexJ Health, we believe that the most efficient and cost-effective way to offset the rise in chronic disease is to empower patients, with the support of their families, friends, and healthcare professionals, to actively participate in managing their own chronic condition(s). By engaging patients through NexJ Connected Wellness, patients are more likely to achieve their health goals, payers can lower costs, providers can improve care to patients, and pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacies can improve medication adherence. For more information about NexJ Health visit www.nexjhealth.com, e-mail info@nexjhealth.com, or call 416-227-3700..

About HomeCall Limited (t/a Call & Check Limited)
HomeCall Limited is a business created by Joe Dickinson and Phil Romeril together with Jersey Post to develop, promote and deliver the Call & Check concept both within Jersey, where the idea was initially created, and into the global market.  The focus of the Call & Check service and our organisation is to enable people to stay at home, in their own communities surrounded by family, friends and local support.  The service is built on a mixed model combining commercial private sector business, public sector organisations with the voluntary sector.  The HomeCall team will work with any organisation looking to create and deliver efficient cost-effective services within their own jurisdictions and communities.  For further information please contact us at info@callandcheck.com or call +44 1534 280800 or visit our website www.callandcheck.com.

About Royal Mail plc
Royal Mail plc is the parent company of Royal Mail Group Limited, the leading provider of postal and delivery services in the UK and the UK’s designated universal postal service provider. UK Parcels, International and Letters (“UKPIL”) comprises the company’s UK and international parcels and letters delivery businesses operating under the “Royal Mail” and “Parcelforce Worldwide” brands. Through the Royal Mail Core Network, the company delivers a one-price-goes-anywhere service on a range of parcels and letters products. Royal Mail has the capability to deliver to more than 30 million addresses in the UK, six days a week (excluding UK public holidays). Parcelforce Worldwide operates a separate UK network which collects and delivers express parcels. Royal Mail also owns General Logistics Systems (GLS) which operates one of the largest ground-based, deferred parcel delivery networks in Europe.