Surgeons lose a working month a year due to bad technology

Surgeons lose an entire working month every year due to inefficient technology, according to a survey.

A poll of more than 300 surgeons in the UK, conducted by tech firm Medtronic, reveals that each surgeon loses an average of four hours a week as a result of poor tech – the equivalent of two hip replacements.

It means that surgeons are losing more than 200 working hours every year, the equivalent of a month.

Eight in ten (79 per cent) respondents felt that care would be easier to deliver if technology was improved.

Professor Sanjay Purkayastha, a Consultant Upper GI and Bariatric Surgeon at Imperial College NHS Trust, said that a lack of tech support “leaves surgical teams perpetually short on time”.

“This is time that could be used on crucial analysis and training. An upgrade in the technologies available to surgeons is long overdue.

“The enhanced efficiency and accuracy we gain from a more integrated and intelligent operating room are undeniable. In surgery, the benefits of being proactive, rather than reactive, are critical to maintaining a high quality of care. Digital technologies will be key to sustaining this. Unfortunately, these benefits remain out of reach for far too many in our field.”

Professor Naeem Soomro, a Royal College of Surgeons Council member, said: “These findings validate and mirror our own research highlighting that the future of surgery lies in more forward-facing digital solutions. Robotics, data and artificial intelligence will allow the NHS to respond to current challenges around access, safety and sustainability of healthcare.”

More than half of the surgeons surveyed (56 per cent) said that time spent on administrative and tasks could be reduced with better technology.

The Standard has previously reported how surgeons at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust in London have performed a week’s worth of operations in a single day with the help of the DaVinci surgical robot. It is hoped that the technique could be replicated across the NHS to help reduce the elective backlog.

Last month, Health Secretary Steve Barclay promised to protect money for health technology from budget cuts.

“The reason I care about tech is simple: it improves outcomes and helps you do your jobs,” he told the NHS Confederation Expo conference in Manchester.

Labour have also pledged to reform the NHS through the rollout of new technology.

In a speech last month, Sir Keir Starmer said that artificial intelligence, personalised medicine and new vaccines could help “transform healthcare for the better”.

George Murgatroyd, vice president and general manager of digital surgery at Medtronic, said the study’s results demonstrate how “outdated technology is holding surgeons back every single day”.

“Digital solutions alone will not solve all the challenges our NHS is facing, but without updating the technologies in our operating theatres, surgeons, their teams, and ultimately patients, will continue to be let down.”

The study received responses from 300 surgeons across 21 regions, within both the public and private sector.