Sick Brits will have their health assessed in just 90 seconds by an NHS smartphone app in bid to save cash
NHS bosses are trialling this as an alternative to the 111 helpline
SICK Brits will be assessed by a smartphone app in just 90 seconds to save cash.
NHS bosses are testing an alternative to the 111 helpline.
But medics warn the app could miss life-threatening conditions or send needless cases to swamped A&Es.
In a six-month pilot, 1.2million people in North London will be prompted to download the programme if they call 111.
They will then have the option of tapping in their symptoms.
The app decides how urgently they need treatment by asking a series of questions.
Experts said the “chatbot” needs around 12 texts before taking 90 seconds to make a diagnosis.
That compares to 12 minutes with a 111 call-handler.
NHS England said those wanting to speak to a medic still could.
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Dr Chaand Nagpaul, of the British Medical Association, said: “This simplistic system could result in more people being sent to overstretched GP or A&E services, or serious conditions being missed.”
Joyce Robins, from Patient Concern, said: “The whole idea is scary.
“The chance of the computer getting it wrong is very high and the consequences could be devastating.”
The pilot is set to launch by the end of the month.
Private health firm Babylon, which designed the system, said it had the potential to save the NHS “huge” amounts of cash.
The 111 helpline is the NHS non-emergency number and has been plagued by problems since its 2013 launch.
But demand continues to rise with more than 1.2 million users in October 2016, up 14 per cent from the year before.
More than one in five callers are still transferred to a clinical adviser – a senior nurse or paramedic.