Thanks to the help of Dora, an artificial intelligent telephone assistant, average waiting times for low complexity cataract surgery for patients in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight has reduced from 35 weeks at the beginning of January 2024, to 10 weeks or less.
Dora calls patients waiting for cataract surgery, speaks to them in a natural voice and gathers medical history. Dora is also capable of offering patients a choice of treatment locations based on waiting times and distance from their home.
Aris Konstantopoulos, consultant ophthalmologist at University Hospital Southampton and Ophthalmology Clinical Lead for NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight said:
“All hospitals in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have made massive strides in reducing the waits for cataract surgery in the area. Dora has enabled this by allowing us to develop a single point of access for referrals, reducing the burden of administrative processes and providing clear options to patients. Using Dora has also allowed us to free-up time for our nursing teams to concentrate on more surgical work while Dora makes the phone calls and completes the administration duty.
“We have had some great feedback from patients who have said that Dora is very clear and easy to understand. She also engages and interacts with patients and can understand what they are saying and asking.”
Dora has made more than 1,200 calls to patients since January 2024 which has freed up many hours of nursing time who previously made the calls.
Feedback from patients who were contacted by DORA, include:
“It was very clear and efficient and prompt and it worked very well.
Article continues below this advertisement “Very simple and straight to the point.”
“I had no problem understanding Dora and it answered my questions.”
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight has a high volume of cataract surgery removal with around 15,000 patients undergoing surgery each year. A Dora patient experience survey from July to December 2024 showed that 92% of patients were extremely satisfied with the experience.
Ophthalmology is one of the busiest specialties in the NHS, carrying out more than 500,000 operations every year (6% of the NHS total) and more than 7.5 million outpatient appointments.
Further information about Dora and how it is being used across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight can be found here: https://www.hantsiow.icb.nhs.uk/cataracts
Can anyone explain how an automatic booking system can get your cataracts done quicker? Nurses and doctors don’t make appointments. Receptionists do that and obviously they don’t employ enough of them. And why is the receptionist in the eye department at Newport hospital not allowed to make appointments when standing in from of them is a patient wanting for one? (They used to be able to do that)
Something else comes to mind, Dora makes telephone calls, can she answer the damn things?
Is there more than one Dora?
is it the booking system that has been delaying things?
There are lots of patients, it’s the sheer number of those that create the waiting list.
You are spot on – the use of AI and the likes of DORA are a total con , perpetrated by those selling the systems to the NHS and others. My online bank uses a similar system, useless unless you ask one of the few questions it is programmed to answer, anything else it siezes up !
Doras , Coras and the like seem to be multiplying and nothing improves.
Anyone wanting NHS cataract treatment needs to see a GP in Sheffield – average wait 4 – 8 weeks after referral !!!
Because when the computer says no, the nurse/doctor/receptionist/porter can’t override the system. And when the computer says no, you can’t take it to court for negligence because it has no legal standing. Clever, huh?
“A I Intelligence.” The I means intelligence. AI is the way to go, get it to run the whole country, will do a far better job than Liar Stalins mob.
I thought A.I was only as good as the information it is fed.
Theoretically yes, except that the ‘intelligence’ bit is supposed to be able to extrapolate from facts to come to a reasonable and logical conclusion. Same as with humans. Some humans.