Dr Robot will see you now...triage by computer to replace nurses

A&E PATIENTS may soon be assessed by a computer under a controversial plan to reduce pressure on frontline staff.

Instead of seeing doctor and nurses for initial assessments, patients will first be asked to answer questions about their injury or illness on a tablet computer. Health chiefs say the eTriage scheme, which has been trialled at an NHS Urgent Care Centre in South London, cuts waiting times and frees up clinicians.

And they argue it will put an end to a ‘first-come, first-served’ system in A&E departments and ensure that the most seriously ill are treated first.

Under the scheme, patients are asked a series of questions about their symptoms.

The process takes on average about four minutes, far less than the average consultation with a nurse of between eight and ten minutes.

Following the trial at Queen Mary’s Sidcup Urgent Care Centre, where average A&E waiting times have been reduced to less than two hours, there are plans to use it in NHS Trusts that are failing to meet the Government’s four-hour standard.

But critics fear that substituting computers for humans could reduce the quality of care.

They are also worried about an over-reliance on artificial intelligence. Professor Carrie MacEwen, chairman of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which represents 220,000 doctors, said: ‘Technological advances promise great improvements when it comes to the quality of patient care and will be vital to help us manage the ever-increasing demand.

‘But we must always exercise caution and not think computers can actually replace doctors and nurses. Those days are a long way off.’

Earlier this year, NHS bosses were condemned for encouraging patients to ask Amazon’s Alexa for health advice instead of seeing a doctor. Critics said it could lead to a failure to identify potentially deadly problems such as sepsis.

Dr Murray Ellender, chief executive of eTriage, said: ‘Digital triage prioritises those patients who are most in need. This is much more efficient than the previous system, which addressed patients on a firstcome, first-served basis.’

Dr Ellender added: ‘Faceto-face interaction is an integral part of the patient experience and eTriage ensures that patient queries are addressed much more quickly.

‘This innovation will save resources and ensure that we continue to deliver the highest standard of care to all patients.’