Medical apps can’t replace the human touch
sir – I read your excellent article (May 31) on how, in the future, giant hospitals will no longer be needed as healthcare will move “out of the hospital and into the home”.
In the same edition, you report that more than a third of GPS are looking to quit. This prompts the question: into whose medical care will a patient be discharged post-surgery, given that it can take up to 10 days to get a GP appointment, there are often no home visits, and sometimes the GP doesn’t even know you were in hospital?
Who will care for a patient at home if that patient lives alone or is a carer for another family member? Who will be there to attend a post-op crisis – such as violent sickness, a fall or sudden breathlessness? Who will make a cup of tea or take the patient to the lavatory late at night? Who will visit if there is no family around?
Artificial intelligence and apps are a wonderful adjunct to the medical profession, but they cannot replace the human touch. Joan Manning
Watford, Hertfordshire
sir – I am on holiday in Portugal at the moment and visited a local pharmacy, where I had my blood pressure, PSA level and cholesterol tested. The result was available in 30 minutes for a total price of €15. If there had been any problems I would have been invited to visit a doctor with my test results.
To achieve this level of diagnostics in Britain, I have to make an appointment with my GP, who will approve a blood test with the practice reception, which will arrange an appointment with a nurse. I then need another appointment with the GP to be advised of the results and any possible follow-up.
There are many ways to save money in the NHS without additional funding: it is called streamlining processes. Alan Bell
Bookham, Surrey
sir – The idea of stationing breast screening vans in supermarket car parks (Features, May 28) is not new.
In Oxfordshire, screening has taken place in vans in supermarket car parks for many years. However, the receptionist did say that there is better uptake when they do it in our local garden centre – no surprise there. Jenny Mahony
Abingdon, Oxfordshire