Considering the contemporaneous turbulent political climate, crumbling government, ageing population, and cost of living crisis, it is truly impressive that the NHS is continuing to function in any capacity. This institution is renowned and revered for good reason – despite its current challenges, it is still an enviable model of socialist health care that has successfully delivered world-class treatment to millions of individuals, free at the point of service.
It is therefore only logical to think that the NHS, this beacon of medicine and care, this historical phenomenon of progressivism, would be a pioneer of healthcare innovation. We’ve seen glimpses of it in the 21st century – Margaret Keenan is the obvious example, but it’s easy to forget that the introduction of electronic health records, virtual consultations, and remote monitoring technologies are all fairly new.
Yet why does the NHS still seem slow to adopt disruptive new technologies, hesitant to try anything new when it comes to recruitment, and is seemingly petrified at the thought of innovation altogether?
The good news is that the long-awaited NHS England Workforce Plan stresses the need to embrace technological innovation and digitalisation to future-proof the workforce. These areas of innovation can be broken down into a few main applications, but one of the biggest ones is, of course, AI.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning is already being used in some capacities within the NHS to diagnose diseases and personalise treatment plans. For example, the NHS is using AI to analyse mammograms and diagnose cancer more efficiently already. This role is likely to grow as AI software becomes more mature, but we’re still a long way off from reaching the singularity. However, it is likely that we’ll see the introduction of AI in automating tasks, making predictions, and providing hyper-personalised care.
The future of patient care will be dependent on the successful adoption of such technological applications. Using AI appropriately to analyse medical images and identify potential problems will help improve the accuracy and efficiency of diagnosis and treatment. This can lead to earlier diagnoses and faster treatment, ultimately saving more lives.
Secondly, new technologies will heavily ameliorate the management of chronic conditions. With an increasingly older population, this is more crucial than ever as in-person appointments and treatments become ever more difficult to secure. Remote monitoring can be used to track patients’ vitals and provide them with feedback, with VR existing as a supplement to in-person consultations and even therapy, allowing patients a safe and controlled space to cope.
Then there is the conversation of accessibility. The birth of electronic healthcare records opens the doors to a potential utopia of easily accessible healthcare information anytime, anywhere. From telemedicine to online prescriptions, it’s easier for people to access the care they need, regardless of location or circumstance.
It goes without saying that all of this has huge implications for the NHS workforce, which is already teetering on the brink of collapse. One can outline a few major prongs of impact:
- Job creation: There will emerge a new sector of workers within the NHS that hereunto has only been reserved for the most technologically savvy, well-funded, private healthcare innovation companies: quants. Just like how Python developers have slowly entered the world of algorithmic commodity trading, we will soon see quants and coders play key roles in enabling the future of NHS technology.
- Reskilling and upskilling: Existing workers will have to reframe to keep up. This will undoubtedly require an investment in training and education – a famously underfunded sector.
- Job displacement: Some jobs will cease to exist while others will merely change. Doctors may spend less time performing routine tasks and more time interpreting data and drawing conclusions – arguably a better use of their time in some ways.
Overall, the impact of technology on the NHS Workforce is complex and uncertain. Regardless, they will have an impact, and it is advisable for any forward-thinking senior leader in an NHS organisation not to sit idly by whilst innovation steams ahead.
Investment in training and education is paramount for the NHS to remain competitive and continue to deliver the high-quality patient care that it is famous for. This will most likely not happen without a change in government that prioritises cultivating a culture of innovation in the UK healthcare field. Healthcare workers must be not just encouraged to experiment with new technologies, but challenged to find new ways to leverage technology to improve the quality of the care they deliver. Embracing diversity will be key to delivering this – a more diverse workforce ineluctably results in diversity of thought, and subsequently, the widest range of skills and perspectives. This means embracing all methods of recruitment and prioritising retention.
By Nadia Babar, Head of Marketing at Remedium
Bio: Nadia is the Head of Marketing at Remedium, a UK-based healthcare staffing consultancy. Remedium places permanent doctors and nurses into the NHS, saving the NHS millions of pounds per year in agency locum spend. With over ten years of copywriting and editing experience, Nadia frequently writes on challenges facing the NHS and wider healthcare system in the UK. She received a Bachelor’s Degree with High Honors from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts.