Intervention costs
Fixed costs related to the software licence agreement, protocol licence, project management and video conferencing were provided by the study team. All fixed costs were depreciated over 3 years on the assumption that the program would be viable for 3 years before an upgrade might be necessary.The equipment price list was provided by the study team. All equipment was assumed to have a life of 3 years.The mean labour cost per participant was calculated using service data provided by the study team. A nurse unit manager and two dedicated clinical nurses were employed full-time seven days per week. If the patient required further clinical attention, they were referred to their general practitioner, or at times the consultant at the hospital was available to support complex needs. Total labour cost was calculated using staff time on intervention plus additional staff training for the intervention. The total travel cost was based on the average cost of running a car and distance. In the study, the nursing staff made three visits to patients in the intervention group and two visits to patients in the control group.