Patients in the Tean and Checkley "will benefit" from £50,000 funding to help digital technology change the way they manage their long-term conditions.

Patients with conditions including cardiovascular disease and respiratory conditions will get training to use digital technology to help with their health conditions.

The funding will be to train 500 patients covered by North Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which includes those in the Moorlands, and Stoke-on-Trent CCG.

Dr Ruth Chambers, clinical chair of Stoke-on-Trent CCG, said: “This is very welcome news at a time when we are seeing how new technology can alter the way patients with long-term conditions can change their lives helped by devices that are relatively cheap and very easy to use.

“Wearable and mobile devices are now able to monitor a range of conditions that once required people to go for regular appointments at their GP surgery or even hospital.

"If you can keep a check on vital signs such as blood pressure or oxygen level in your blood while you are leading your everyday life it means you can make adjustments to what you are doing to help you stay as active and healthy as possible. It can also help you keep in touch remotely with doctors or nurses.”

Tracey Shewan, director of nursing for both CCGs, said: “This is really exciting because this type of technology can help transform lives.

"What will make it work is for us to support and train patients to use the right technology for their circumstances, make sure they really understand the benefits, and then help it become part of their daily routine.

“More and more people are using apps and mobile devices as part of their daily life.

"The skills you need to use these are directly transferable to digital health technology.”

Patients will be helped to use digital technology through common applications such as Facebook or Skype.

The programme will begin in October and last a year.