Are robots the answer to the NHS’S problems?

Written by Milly.D and Dior.S

In the current day, the NHS is having a hard time withs upplying care for all the millions of citizens in need of help. From national computer hacking to doctors and nurses going on strike, the NHS has definitely had a rough couple of years. The shortage in staff is getting increasingly worse and the UK is starting to doubt that there is any way out of this deep hole that they seemed to have fallen in.

Recently a solution has been buzzing in the community, many people think that robots should be introduced to the NHS. Robots would be used for as little as filling in reports, to performing surgery to those in need. The idea originated in Japan where robots were used to move around people in nursing homes, it then adapted to health care and has already been put into use for minor tasks such as the transportation of medicines to a certain room in the hospital. But what engineers are working on is much, much bigger than this.

The UK are currently working on robots that could perform surgery and treat ill patients. Cambridge Medical Robotics tech firm are a group of scientists who are very invested in building robot doctors. CEO of the Cambridge Medical Robotics, Martin Frost is one of the scientists working on creating robot doctors. These new and improved robot doctors would now be able to perform scans and may fill in for doctors who can’t get to an appointment on time. The robots would be able to give monthly check-ups and help anyone who suffers from a minor illness to people with a life threatening disease. But the question is, how would people feel if they were going to be treated by a robot doctor?

Many believe that robots are the answer to the NHS’s problems and believe that the upcoming race of robots will be able to help with the health program. Scientists are starting to believe that the future robots will make surgeries more accurate and patients will be treated with a better understanding of their illness. As quoted in Cambridge by Martin Frost, “Why use a robot? Well, it’s more flexible and can be more precise and less invasive, meaning patients can recover quicker, have a shorter stay in hospital and health care providers can save money.”

A survey conducted at the St Marylebone School found that only a small minority of people are looking at the positives. This is due to all the media circling about how, ‘robots will take over our world.’Despite this, a good effect that robots could have is that there wouldn’t be any sexism in the workplace, and having robots working would be more efficient and quick. Also, surgery would be a lot more accurate meaning that many more lives could be saved on a daily basis. These are reasons supporting the fact that robot doctors should be introduced in the NHS and could be a very large reason for why the UK health program might improve in the future.

However, amazing as the upcoming robots may seem, it would also have a more shocking effect worldwide for several reasons. It could eventually solve the problem that many countries face: having poorly trained personnel or not having the correct medicine and knowledge to treat people. The new robots would be so finely tuned that they would very rarely not know the cause of an illness. This would mean that patients would be treated more effectively for what is really wrong with them.

The idea has already been put into action in major continents such as the US. In the US alone, a small minority of the population are selling and purchasing robot doctors, with just over 2,000 sold. Every year,the amount of robots sold increases by 30%, which could eventually lead to the majority of doctors being robots. For example, i-robot, a company based around giving patients a quicker and more relaxed experience, have succeeded in designing a robot that is already in use in US hospitals. Their research is starting to be spread around for many other countries to indulge the idea.

Lower income countries often struggle to provide care for those in need. In Ghana, for example, the ratio of doctors to patient is 1 to 5,000 and many people die because they are not being treated quickly enough. Having robot doctors could make up for this gap where patients are not being treated.

Our survey shows that only 10% of people say that they would be comfortable with a robot as their doctor. Why is this?

Some believe that the rise of robots will actually end up having a negative effect on both the UK’s economy and its health program. Our survey has shown that over 60% of the people who took it would not be comfortable having a robot as their doctor. Although many say that overall it would have a positive impact on the NHS, they also think that they would not like robot doctors to treat them. The main reason for this is that people are worried that robots would be unsuited for unexpected situations. For example,if a person needed to be rushed into emergency surgery, a robot doctor may not know what to do in such a short period of time.

Another problem which would be caused by robot doctors is that they would be very bad for the UK’s economy. They are really expensive to buy as they are very complex machines. Also, it is very expensive to actually program the robots. Robot programmers also need to be taught and paid, the price for that would could eventually be more than the price of having a single human doctor.

Finally, with the position of doctors being filled by robots, many people may lose their jobs. This would mean that it may be harder to find a job in the UK and in the end, many more people would be living on the streets or without a job.

So, how many people actually agree to have robots as their doctor? Our recent survey around St Marylebone school shows that 4/5ths of the people say that we should definitely not have robot doctors put into place in the UK. Also, although some people think that robots would stop sexism many people argue against this. People believe that it would affect sexism on a small scale but on a worldwide basis, this would not be large enough to end it for all.

Dr Jo-Etienne Abela, Consultant Laparoscopic, Endoscopic Surgeon and gastrointestinal surgeon says in an interview, “I completely disagree with having a robot as my doctor. There is more to doctoring than getting information and analysing it. On the other hand, I think that robot-assisted surgery is the future in many fields.” When asked whether he personally would feel comfortable with having a robot surgically operate on one of his own patients or on himself, he says that, “I would not trust a robot to examine me and I would not want decisions in my regard taken without any form of human input.” The Dr suggests that robots are reliant on humans and would not be capable to care for a person without humans guiding them. He says that the biggest downside and disadvantage of robots as doctors would be that, “A vast part of our craft has to do with human contact and empathy and these qualities cannot ever be replaced by a machine.” So, it is clear that Dr Jo-Etienne Abela is completely against the idea, but people out of the profession may disagree.

Overall it really is up to personal opinion. Despite our survey suggesting that robot doctors are not good, you may completely disagree and believe that robots would be great for Britain. The NHS could both benefit from robots in the workplace but also fall negatively under their actions. It’s your choice!

Written by Milly.D and Dior.S