Innovation and technology are aiding an under pressure NHS

Being so key to our infrastructure, like the police, the courts and even bin collections, when it struggles to meet demand or fails to live up to citizens’ or politicians’ expectations it becomes an easy target for those very people to knock it.

A recent Channel 4 documentary went undercover into South East Coast Ambulance Service’s call centre to explore the root cause behind delays in sending paramedic care to those who need it. The pressure on staff was so great they were encouraged to gild the lily to some callers regarding their prospects of getting an ambulance. It was a tough watch and I felt desperately sorry for the waiting patients, their families and the staff. Some, in each of those groups, could be seen or heard crying at their frustration that supply had no chance of meeting demand. It reminded me of the times my mother and I sat up all night with my very sick step father, who could not be moved other than by those with specialist training and equipment, waiting for the more urgent cases to clear before he rose up the list and an ambulance to eventually arrive.

These delays and extended waiting times are still common and it is never, repeat never, the fault of those at the front end, striving against the odds to deliver a service which has not kept up with the demands placed upon it.

However, there are flickers of light at the end of the tunnel which show that innovation and technology are helping. For months, I have had a foot complaint that affects the tissues on its sole. Last Monday, my chiropractor thought there might be something more serious going on so suggested an X-ray. He wrote to my GP, copying me in on the letter. The next morning I logged on to my surgery’s website, completed the obligatory questionnaire for a phone or in-person appointment, then pressed send. Just a few hours later I received a text from the surgery asking me to attach a picture of the chiropractor’s letter as it hadn’t yet arrived. Almost instantly I received another text to say I had been referred for an X-ray which I could attend at any time they were open. That was it; all resolved in less than twenty-four hours after my chiropractor picked up the problem. Imagine what that could have been like. A paper letter sent, a long wait on the phone to make a GP appointment which, as it’s not the most urgent of cases, might have been a couple of weeks’ hence. Following that consultation I would have waited for the X-ray letter to come through, which might have involved a further delay and more than likely not been at a time convenient to me. In essence, due to streamlined systems and maximising digital opportunities it was all resolved in a matter of days rather than weeks or even months under the old system. And crucially, I clogged up no waiting lists.

A similar swift response was received by someone I know (I’ll protect their identity) who called 111 when they had come to the end of their tether with a stomach complaint. After a swift clinical review they were asked to make their way to the local hospital where, following a minor procedure, the issue was resolved and they were discharged home. All in a few hours.

These examples show, not that the NHS is fixed – I doubt it ever will be – but that it’s not just those on the front line working themselves to the bone to provide world class care. Behind the scenes, others are developing systems to enable healthcare workers to do their job more efficiently thereby freeing up capacity to meet the burgeoning demand that inadequate funding never seems to match.

Former Brighton and Hove police chief Graham Bartlett’s Brighton-based Jo Howe crime novel series continues with City on Fire which is now available in paperback.