AI and Robots Could Ease Pressure in Care System, Says Health Secretary

Health Secretary Steve Barclay during a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London, as nurses at other hospitals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland take industrial action over pay, on Dec. 15, 2022. Stefan Rousseau/PA Media

Smart technology can provide better and faster care for the elderly, while easing pressure on staff, according to Health Secretary Steve Barclay.

Ahead of his trip to the G-7 Summit in Nagasaki, Japan, Barclay spoke about the role of robots and AI technology in supporting patients in care homes across the UK.

Learning how other countries use smart tech in social care and applying innovative methods in Britain would help patients, suggested Barclay in an interview with The Telegraph.

“I think there’s a space to look at what is working in other health care systems. Do we have the humility to learn from that and see what we can adopt? There may be space to do that within robots, but it may also be particularly around AI,” he said.

“Looking at the examples in Japan where it may be on robotics, it may be on artificial intelligence, it may be other areas where technology is helping both to support patients in the care home, in their own home, and also avoid some of those visits to emergency departments, because once frail, elderly people are admitted to hospital, often they end up staying for a significant length of time,” Barclay added.

Rapid population ageing in Japan and the shortage of caregivers boosted research in the field of robotics in elderly care. By 2018, the Japanese government had spent over $300 million in funding research and development for such devices.

AI and robotics could be part of the solution to the issue of overstretched hospitals and understaffed care homes.

An attendee shakes hands with a robotic arm during the Japan Robot Week 2022 event in Tokyo on Oct. 19, 2022. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

The NHS has been dealing with a high number of A&E attendances and long waiting lists for urgent and non-urgent care during and after the pandemic. Currently, the maximum waiting time for non-urgent, consultant-led treatments is 18 weeks.

Barclay admitted that one of the key challenges within the UK is “frail, elderly patients admitted to emergency departments when often care can be better delivered earlier.”

“When we look at the pressures that emergency departments often face, there’s scope to do much more upstream in the care home, looking at what care can be given earlier, how technology can play a part with that but also for people in the home itself,” the minister said.

‘Facing a Ticking Time Bomb’

The British Medical Association (BMA) has warned that the UK could see up to 500,000 vacancies in social care by the end of 2030.

“This, alongside an ageing population, means that we are effectively facing a ticking time bomb. The Government must act now to effectively remunerate and value care workers to ensure that there are enough staff to look after all those in need of social care in the future,” the BMA said in 2022.

Barclay suggested robots and AI can help in better supporting patients and reducing demand on health and social care staff.

With one in seven people in the UK now expected to be over 75 years old by 2040, the government has been looking to automate elder care as the solution.

Faced with a shortage of care staff, in 2019 the government invested £34 million in the “biggest research programme entirely dedicated to making autonomous systems safe and trustworthy for public use.”

The investment is set to help develop robots that could help “an elderly person up after a fall and raising the alarm, delivering food to an older person at mealtimes, and even ensuring they take crucial medication at the correct time.”

During his visit to Japan, Barclay will stop by the Silver Wing Social Welfare Corp., a Tokyo-based nursing home operator that uses humanoid robots and AI technology to entertain and monitor its residents.