Hospital chiefs insist they are not looking to replace human interaction with artificial intelligence (AI) as part of a transformation programme.
Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group (LCHG) is carrying out a consultation process with staff in a bid to modernise the way it manages appointments and letters to patients.
Hospital bosses want to change the way they manage patient appointments. Photo: istock/Nickbeer
The consultation over the Patient Services Hub has drawn opposition from the Unite union — which warns that the move puts 180 jobs at risk — and a 4,000-plus name petition, which alleges that the move is an ‘alarming’ plan that could replace people with AI.
Hospital bosses have insisted that it is too early to say what will happen — with the consultation due to end on January 6 — but have told LincsOnline that it is not the intention for AI systems to cut human interaction from the admin process.
They do say, however, that automation will be used to take care of ‘routine tasks’ under a new-look system.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham (middle) is concerned about cuts to Lincolnshire hospital staff.
Caroline Landon, group chief operating officer at Lincolnshire Community and Hospitals NHS Group, said: “The intention of our Patient Services Hub transformation programme is to significantly improve how we coordinate patient care in our hospitals.
“This is in response to feedback from our patients about challenges they face in getting hold of people on the telephone to query, rearrange or cancel appointments and issues with letters they receive about their care.
“Our staff have also told us they are frustrated by the outdated technology currently used to manage patient appointments, as we rely on 15 different systems and 40 mailboxes to handle patient bookings.”
She reiterated that bosses are working together with staff as part of the consultation to design a future model and added: “We value our administrative and clerical staff, and fully acknowledge the important role that they play in patient care. This programme is about enabling and supporting these colleagues.
“The proposed Patient Service Hub would bring together and modernise outpatient and inpatient administrative services, including using digital tools to ensure that our communication with patients is improved and making our processes simpler.
“It is not intended to remove human interaction, but to enhance it by reducing administrative inefficiencies.
“While automation would support routine tasks, patients will always continue to have direct access to staff for complex, urgent, or sensitive matters or if they’re not confident using digital tools.
“At this stage, this remains a proposal so it would be inappropriate to comment further on the details until we have heard from staff and considered their feedback.”
Union leaders say they have had a surge of new members since the consultation began — and called for talked with hospital bosses to ‘reset’ the proposals.
Patient watchdog Healthwatch has asked for clarification about the proposals from the trust and says it will ‘expect clear information about how patient access, safety, quality of care and staffing levels will be maintained or improved’.
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