Support on the frontline: Technology helping fight COVID-19
Tim Weil, CEO, Navenio, comments on technology’s role in fighting the pandemic, and beyond.
Despite over 60 million vaccine doses administered in the UK, COVID-19 cases are rising again as restrictions ease, meaning we are now in another wave. On top of this, the long-term impact of COVID-19 is something that hospitals and healthcare teams will continue to face, as they tackle the backlog caused by the pandemic and plan for future disruption.
To manage the pandemic, fast innovation is required. It’s clear that technology is having a hugely positive impact in coping with this and with COVID-19 accelerating change across the ecosystem, it’s now time for private and public health systems to re-evaluate traditional processes, in order to support teams and their patients.
Knock-on impact of the pandemic
A total of 12.2 million patients are waiting to start hospital treatment according to the Health Secretary - the highest number since records began in August 2007. This figure reflects the scale of unmet need in a significant portion of the waiting list, with those patients requiring non-urgent care deprioritised. With patients caught up in the backlog and teams still reeling from the impact of COVID-19, getting back to capacity won’t be easy.
Despite this, the pandemic has shone a light on the positive role of technology in helping to deal with challenges healthcare teams have faced. By way of example, virtual GP appointments were rolled out swiftly last year and provided patients with much needed support during lockdown. Processes like this would have previously taken months, or even years, to get into full swing. With perceptions beginning to shift, now is the time to look at other ways in which technology can support our healthcare teams as they look to increase efficiency and capacity.
Supporting healthcare teams
Our healthcare teams need more support than ever to be able to cope with the strain they are under, so it’s important for organisations across the board to equip them with the tools that they need. Technology is supporting our public and private healthcare teams in a range of areas, including portering, cleaning, catering, and locating assets. It enables hospitals to become data-led operations, where teams can become more confident in managing the strain on resources, ultimately allowing them to deliver improved patient care too.
Hospital environments have changed dramatically over the past year and the safe treatment of those with COVID-19, while simultaneously allowing for non-COVID patients to receive treatment is another challenge that teams have faced. Infrastructure-free location technology, for example, is one of the simplest and most effective ways to ensure that hospital staff are not moving from one zone to another. It is helping those on the front line by localising the team members that underpin the patient flow in a hospital - something that was previously impossible in large hospital buildings.
Going forward, this will be crucial in helping to deal with the impact of the pandemic, as well as supporting teams as they prepare for the possibility of a third peak in cases at the end of the summer.
Innovation in healthcare
Perceptions around technology have been dramatically altered during the pandemic. With many previously sceptical about its use in the sector, it has proved that it is a lifeline in helping to deliver critical support where needed, and further innovation is now more important than ever.
As outlined in a recent Public Policy Projects report, it is time to address inequalities and continue the pace of digital transformation by investing in people as well as technology. While we made great steps forward during 2021, the pandemic has opened up a window of opportunity for change that we haven’t seen before. We now have the ability to leverage tools to ensure that our teams feel better supported, hospitals and healthcare settings can run efficiently and effectively and ultimately, patient care can be prioritised.