NHS enlists triage bots to warn of suicide risks

VIRTUAL assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri are to be used by the NHS to assess whether patients might be suicidal.

A report, published today, into the technological future of the service has called for NHS trusts to embrace artificial intelligence and robots.

It reveals that London is already planning to embed artificial intelligence (AI) into its mental health services to pick up those people at risk from self harm.

Mental health patients can use online programs to aid recovery and it is hoped that “triage bots” which work like the virtual assistants could pick up warning signs by analysing their words in conversations.

Facebook has screened its user posts for suicidal thoughts since 2017 and similar technology can now pick up worrying phrases that are spoken out loud.

The report, led by Eric Topol, a US academic, said a technological revolution would see 90 per cent of all NHS jobs requiring digital skills within 20 years.

Virtual reality technology could be used to help reduce pain and distress, and treat anxiety, phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Meanwhile, AI could save time in interpreting scans such as mammograms, eye scans and pathology slides, and also improve the accuracy of diagnoses.

The report also calls for the use of robots in surgery to be expanded, while they could also automate repetitive tasks such as dispensing pharmaceuticals.