Carebots looking after elderly ‘to save NHS £12.5bn’

Bedside robots looking after patients could help to save the NHS £12.5bn a year in running costs, a major report has claimed.

The study, from the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), said so-called ‘carebots’ could encourage frail elderly people to wash, dress, eat and drink. A further £6bn could be saved in social care by automating repetitive jobs, the report concluded.

In addition, tasks such as processing medical notes, prescribing medication and booking appointments could all be performed digitally, freeing up staff to focus on more urgent work.

In particular, the study insisted that automating tasks should mean NHS staff and care workers spending more time with patients. But it also pointed to trials of how robotic pets can provide “some of the comfort that already comes from companion animals but without caring responsibilities that live animals require”.

The review, authored by former health ministers Lord Darzi (Labour) and Lord Prior (Conservative), forecasts that technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) could perform almost a third of tasks currently carried out by nurses, and nearly a quarter by hospital doctors.

However, it sought to allay fears that technology would lead to widespread job losses in the NHS, saying staff should be promised a “right to retrain” if technology renders their skills obsolete.

Some health campaigners have raised concerns about using robots to fulfill human jobs. In June Esther Rantzen, TV presenter and founder of the charity Silverline, told The Telegraph that using technology to monitor old people should be a failsafe only, because “nothing replaces company”.

“I cannot see myself sitting next to a robot watching television,” she added.

The report, available at www. snipca.com/28125, is part of a larger review to ensure the NHS’S survival as it celebrates its 70th birthday in July.