Patients Concerned about Technology Progress

Patients worry that technology would replace contact with human carers, a recent report has claimed.

12:22 29 September 2019

A recent report conducted by technology think tank Doteveryone found that many patients are adamant about the use of technology in healthcare. It says that dementia patients are left deeply distressed when being reminded by robotic voice to take their medicine and worry that new gadgets would replace contact with human carers. It also found that disabled people are deeply worried that smart homes, which features self-opening doors and windows, would malfunction and leave them trapped.

 

 

 

Lydia Nicholas, the lead researcher in the report, said: “What was flagged up to us by care professionals and specialist nurses was if you are on a dementia ward there is no point having robots telling people what to do as they will just get distressed and confused.

 

 

 

“Essentially, reminding someone to take their medication when you are in a social care context is not just a fact of flagging up it’s three o’clock and it’s time to take your drugs. A lot of the time it is about convincing someone who is quite distressed of the fact that their medication is safe or reminding them to get a glass of water, making sure they have eaten with it.”

 

 

 

Ms Nicholas added: “I spoke to people who said that their smart home was fantastic, but they found the idea that it would be completely relied on terrifying. They were distressed at the idea that they could be trapped in a house that was getting hotter and hotter if they could not open the windows.”