Hancock: NHS must adopt new technology or it will not survive

The NHS must adopt new technology in order to survive, the health secretary has warned, as a report calls for widespread use of robots and artificial intelligence.

The study by the Taxpayers Alliance suggests 10% of the NHS budget could be saved by the introduction of “automation” across the health service. This could be aided by the fact there is greater public demand for use of automated systems to book appointments, with 9 out of 10 people preferring to book GP appointments online.

The study estimates that the amount of staff time saved by greater use of such technology is equivalent to £12.5bn a year - around a tenth of its budget.

To read more, click here.