Brits have become used to long NHS wait times for many years. However, the post-covid backlog has sent the number of patients on waiting lists rocketing:

There are many strong views on what NHS reforms are needed, but one thing everyone can agree on is that the current trajectory is unsustainable. Modern technologies will be vital in delivering the improvements that will help both NHS staff and patients.

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust has announced a partnership with TCS to develop digital solutions that increase the productivity of specialists, reduce waiting times for patients, and improve the overall experience. 

Shalini Mathur, Business Unit Head of Public Services for the UK, Europe, and ANZ at TCS, said:

“We are pleased to partner with The Walton Centre to transform patient care in the UK using next-gen technologies.

These technologies and solutions will help reduce waiting times for patients while improving the productivity of specialist consultants. This creates a blueprint for similar digital innovation in other clinical settings.”

The first product of this partnership is an AI chatbot that aims to transform how patients with headaches are diagnosed and treated.

A headache can range from nothing serious to being potentially fatal or life-changing. Anyone who is concerned their headache could be out-of-the-ordinary should get it checked out, but deciding which patients should be prioritised is a critical but difficult task.

Patients with headaches make up the largest number of outpatient referrals to neurologists at The Walton Centre. The use of a chatbot will enable information about the patient’s condition to be collected in order to compile a detailed report for clinicians to review before an initial appointment.

Dependent on the clinician’s assessment, a patient may be put on a fast track for an examination or offered guidance on alleviating symptoms while they wait for their turn.

Dr Anita Krishnan, Divisional Clinical Director for Neurology at The Walton Centre, and a Consultant Neurologist specialising in headaches, commented:

“Technology is a huge part of medicine and it’s exciting to work with TCS to create a new artificial intelligence-based solution which will help our patients.

The chatbot system also has the potential to be extended into other areas of medicine, which could benefit even more patients.

We are working closely with TCS and our other specialist partners to ensure the new solution is effective and safe and improves efficiency and patient outcomes.”

While it’s a fairly limited trial to begin with, AI-powered chatbots could make a real difference across the NHS. Chatbots can help to ensure that patients are correctly prioritised and less of the scarce time consultants have available is spent having to ask the questions for information that can be collected beforehand.

Chatbots aren’t going to solve all of the NHS’ problems, but they should make a positive difference for staff and patients.

(Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq on Unsplash)

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Racial inequality continues to be rampant in healthcare. Examining the fallout of COVID-19 serves as yet another example of the disparity between ethnicities.

In England and Wales, males of Black African ethnic background had the highest rate of death involving COVID-19, 2.7 times higher than males of a White ethnic background. Females of Black Caribbean ethnic background had the highest rate, 2.0 times higher than females of White ethnic background. All ethnic minority groups other than Chinese had a higher rate than the White ethnic population for both males and females.

Such disparities are sadly common across many conditions that can reduce life enjoyment, limit opportunities, and even lead to premature death. AI could be a powerful aid in tackling the problem, if thoroughly tested and implemented responsibly.

“As the first health and social care secretary from an ethnic minority background, I care deeply about tackling the disparities which exist within the healthcare system,” explained Javid, speaking to The Guardian.

Among the projects given the green light by Javid include the creation of new standards for health inclusivity to improve the representation of ethnic minorities in datasets used by the NHS.

“If we only train our AI using mostly data from white patients it cannot help our population as a whole,” added Javid. “We need to make sure the data we collect is representative of our nation.”

A recent analysis found a significant disparity in performance when using computer screening to detect diabetic retinopathy in patients from ethnic minority communities due to different levels of retinal pigmentation. One project will attempt to address this disparity.

Among the devastating statistics affecting minority communities is that black women are five times more likely to die from complications during pregnancy than white women. One project will use algorithms to investigate the factors and recommend changes – including potentially new training for nurses and midwives – that will hopefully ensure that everyone has the best possible chance to live a healthy life with their child.

The development of an AI-powered chatbot also hopes to raise the uptake of screening for STIs/HIV among minority ethnic communities.

The drive will be led by NHSX. A report in 2017 by PwC found that just 39 percent of the UK public would be willing to engage with AI for healthcare. However, research (PDF) by KPMG found that – despite an overall unwillingness from the British public to share their data with the country’s biggest organisations even if it improved service – the NHS came out on top with 56 percent willing to do so.

If the UK Government wants to use AI as part of its “level up” plans, it will need to tread carefully with a sceptical public and prove its benefits while avoiding the kind of devastating missteps that have cost thousands of lives and defined Johnson’s premiership so far.

(Image Credit: UK Parliament under CC BY 3.0 license)

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