Health secretary visits care home in Tokyo to find out how assistive technology improves patient care
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom, Steve Barclay, visited Silver Wing care home in Tokyo, while visiting the G7 health ministers’ meeting, to find out more about how it uses assistive technology to reduce pressure on staff while providing better care for residents.
He saw some of the tech in action, including the mobility aids staff use to lift and move residents to and from their beds, which staff say has reduced pain in their lower backs while respecting residents’ privacy.
Other devices included bed sensors, robotic mobility and walking aids and interactive entertainment.
The Secretary of State concluded a visit to the G7 health ministers’ meeting, which took place in Nagasaki, Japan, from 13 May to 14 May 2023, where he led discussions with international counterparts on how technology can be used to improve patient care, reduce pressure on health and social care staff and cut waiting times for patients.
The Secretary of State also held one-to-one meetings with health ministers from G7 countries to discuss shared opportunities on using tech and innovation, workforce recruitment as well as cutting waiting times.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, said: “Japan is pioneering the use of the latest technology and innovation in health and social care, so my visit to Nagasaki has been a great opportunity to see at first hand how this innovation helps both staff and people in care.
“New technology, including artificial intelligence, has a big role to play in the NHS’s future, helping to deliver one of the government’s 5 priorities to cut waiting lists so patients get the care they need quicker.
“We’re already seeing the benefits – the NHS App is being used to order more than 500,000 repeat prescriptions every week, while our £123 million investment in AI technologies is helping staff tackle issues like stroke diagnosis, cancer screening and cardiovascular monitoring.”
The Secretary of State delivered a speech at the summit in which he said new innovations will help tackle global health issues, including ageing populations. He cited as an example the UK’s world-first antibiotic subscription model that incentivises drug companies to produce new antibiotics which other G7 countries are looking to as something they could implement domestically.
The UK government has started to take action to implement technology across the NHS and social care. In March, the government announced nearly £16 million investment into pioneering artificial intelligence research through the AI in Health and Care Awards.
This brings the total investment to £123 million in 86 AI technologies, which stand to benefit over 300,000 patients and support the treatment of conditions including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental health and neurological disorders.
The 2-day G7 health ministers’ meeting finished on Sunday with member states signing an agreement on tackling shared global health challenges, including: better surveillance, data and information sharing to protect the world against another pandemic.
The Secretary of State also spoke at a side event on dementia in which he recognised the need for global, as well as domestic, solutions which improve knowledge and understanding of dementia, helping to drive the production of innovative treatments and medicines.
The government will soon launch a call for evidence for our Major Conditions Strategy which will cover 6 conditions: cancer, mental ill health, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal disorders, chronic respiratory diseases and dementia.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, recently unveiled the Spring Budget 2023, which sets out the UK Government’s plans for tax and spending policy in the UK, including announcements for the assistive technology sector.