Russ Watkins
Commercial Director, AHSN NENC
Jo Bangoura
Digital Transformation Manager, West of England AHSN
From repetitive yet vital backroom work to helping surgeons hone their skills, robotics are assisting NHS staff across England.
Each year, 10 million patients undergo surgery in the UK. Improving the results of operations is key to ensuring effective patient recovery as well as the best productivity levels for highly skilled staff.
XR gives surgeons a cutting edge
The Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) for the North East and Cumbria (NENC), part of the AHSN Network, has supported the use of extended reality (XR) to give surgeons more effective training in the use of robotics.
“As technology has developed, we have helped push the boundaries when it comes to offering vital training that has enabled surgeons to make full use of robotic assistance,” explains Russ Watkins, Commercial Director of AHSN NENC.
Automating administrative tasks
As well as this form of digital ‘upskilling’, other parts of the AHSN Network have worked to promote robotic process automation (RPA) which automates some clinical and back-office administrative functions, freeing staff time to add greater value to their services.
As technology has developed, we have helped push the boundaries when it comes to offering vital training that has enabled surgeons to make full use of robotic assistance.
Across the country, cloud-based software scripts – robots – have undertaken routine work, ranging from printing job offer letters to checking the demographic data for patients on waiting lists and scheduling appointments asking for patient feedback.
Promoting health technology developments
“There are two main Centres of Excellence in the NHS, The Royal Free Hospital Intelligent Automation Centre and the Northampton General Hospital Automation Accelerator, which have used robotics extensively and are supporting NHS organisations around the country to get started with RPA,” says Jo Bangoura, Digital Transformation Manager at West of England AHSN, part of the AHSN Network. “While it may be seen initially as an expensive investment, the overall business case for using RPA is compelling as systems generally pay for themselves within two to five years.”
The AHSN Network acts as the innovation arm of the NHS and the collective voice of the 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) across England.
To find out more about how AHSNs are supporting the spread of innovations, such as robotics, across England, see: ahsnnetwork.com/about-academic-health-science-networks