AI and robots to assess patients in NHS plan to tackle record waiting lists
Artificial intelligence will be used to decide who gets treated most quickly under NHS schemes aimed at tackling record waiting lists.
One scheme in Lancashire and South Cumbria will be used for patients waiting for non-urgent surgery, with “AI” systems used to assess which patients would fare worst from long waits.
GP patients in Surrey will be given an option to be assessed by AI, with chatbots able to refer people to see a physiotherapist or mental health therapist.
And elderly patients in Bristol will be issued with “robots” at home, with remote controlled technology used so consultants in hospital can make visual assessments of vulnerable patients while they remain at home.
The £160 million initiatives were announced today by NHS England as health officials prepared to announce the latest waiting list figures, which were last month at an all time-high.
Health officials said the initiatives, which also include 3D eye scanners, at-home antibiotic kits, and “Super Saturday” clinics bringing together multi-disciplinary teams, would help to bring down waiting times.
Today the NHS will report the latest waiting statistics, with last month’s figures at a record high.
At the end of February, 4.7 million people were waiting - the highest figure since records began in August 2007.
Research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Harvard University and Imperial College London showed there were 2.9 million fewer planned admissions, 1.2 million fewer non-Covid-related emergency inpatient admissions and 17.1 million fewer outpatient appointments between March and December 2020, compared with the same period in 2019.
NHS England said indicators suggest operations and other elective activity were at four-fifths of pre-pandemic levels in April, which is "well ahead" of a target of 70 per cent which was set in their guidance.
It said it is working to speed up the health service's recovery by trialling new ways of working in 12 areas and five specialist children's hospitals.
Tens of thousands of patients in the trial areas will be part of the initiatives, called “elective accelerators” .
Other schemes include one-stop testing facilities, pop-up clinics to allow patients to be seen closer to home, "pre-hab" sessions to get patients fitter ahead of surgery and "Super Saturday" clinics, bringing multi-disciplinary teams together at the weekend to offer more specialist appointments.
Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief operating officer, said: "With Covid cases in hospitals now significantly reducing thanks to the extraordinary success of the NHS vaccination programme, our focus is now on rapidly recovering routine services.
"Early figures show local teams are already well ahead of schedule, but we want to go further, faster, which is why we are investing £160 million to find new ways to tackle waiting lists.
"The additional support announced today will help us create a blueprint for continuing that progress over summer and beyond, in a way that doesn't heap extra pressure on staff, so that as many people as possible benefit from the world-class care the NHS provides."
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: “The lengthening of waiting times due to Covid-19 has been well publicised, and patients are anxious about what this will mean for them.
“This worry comes on top of the impact of having to live for longer with the pain or discomfort of their condition, and for many is compounded by having had multiple appointments postponed or cancelled. Steps to accelerate the recovery of elective treatment are therefore very welcome – the importance of treatment being timely, to ensure the best possible outcomes, is well recognised”.
But the BMA criticised the plan, saying it would cost £4 billion to clear the backlog.
Council chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “To trumpet a cash boost of £160 million is wholly disingenuous” saying initiatives such as “Super Saturdays” showed "a grave lack of understanding of the rocketing workload” already facing doctors.
He said: "What we need to see is a workable plan that sufficiently supports the needs of the health service as a whole, and it is imperative that the allocation of funding and resources is reasonable and caters to the needs of primary, secondary and community care - all of whom have been completely stretched in the past year.
"Importantly, this must be underpinned by ongoing efforts to expand the medical workforce and to ensure that the utmost is done to retain doctors and NHS staff and give them enough support through the challenging time ahead."
Professor Neil Mortensen, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England said, “We welcome today’s announcement of funding for accelerator sites to explore and test new ways to get the elective backlog down. It will take both innovation and collaboration to reduce the huge waiting list that has built up over the last year.”
