NHS trials hospital Uber to match patients up with nearest porter

The NHS is to trial a new Uber-style geolocation service to match up patients, porters and equipment to get people around hospitals more quickly.

Currently, the complexity and size of some hospitals make it difficult to match up porters with patients, meaning they are left waiting.

However, the new system, designed by the University of Oxford and tech company Navenio Ltd, will make it easy to locate staff and match them to nearby patients, in the same way as the taxi app functions.

It is hoped the project will increase staff productivity to 96per cent and cut costs by up to 35per cent and will be initially tested in the Oxford area.

It is one of several tech projects that have been awarded £17million by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Others include a scheme to use artificial intelligence at Great Ormond Street Hospital to schedule operations based on the availability of surgeons, theatres, nursing staff and beds.

At Chester Hospital Trust, stroke patients will also be testing virtual reality headsets to deal with the chronic shortage of physiotherapists, occupational health therapists and stroke consultants.