HEALTHCARE HYGIENE Healthcare intelligence
Artificial intelligence and technology in general are proving to be invaluable in healthcare for diagnoses, surgical work – and even for cleaning. Liam Mynes from Tork manufacturer Essity looks at some of the ways in which healthcare is becoming more intelligent.
The UK has just become the first country in the world to join a global network of health regulators focused on the safe and effective use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare.
This means that as of June 2025, Britain has become a healthcare technology trailblazer. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is to play a crucial role in the global effort to incorporate AI tools into healthcare facilities.
These tools will be used for various applications, such as supporting earlier diagnoses and cutting NHS waiting times. At the grassroots level, there is still some caution concerning the use of AI in the NHS.
A July 2024 report revealed that 73% of UK healthcare professionals had never used AI in their work. A fear of errors was deterring 62% from adopting it, while 35% said they had no idea how AI could be applied to their work.
The pan-European Corti and YouGov study concluded that the UK was at risk of falling behind other countries in terms of adopting AI in healthcare. So, the decision to join the HealthAI Global Regulatory Network as a founding country is a huge step for the nation.
Despite the suspicion with which technology is still regarded by some, AI is gradually making inroads into the healthcare sector, where it is proving to be invaluable for many purposes – some of them fairly routine, while others have the potential to save lives.
For example, AI is increasingly being used in the NHS to analyse X-ray images, freeing up radiologists to spend more time with patients. It is helping to read brain scans more quickly, shortening the time it takes for patients to be treated and improving their quality of care. It’s also being used to make diagnoses and help to choose the right treatment option for patients.
In 2023 London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital became the UK’s first healthcare trust to adopt Hugo, a robotic- assisted surgery system created by healthcare tech company Medtronic. This uses AI to enhance visualisation, precision and control during urological and gynaecological surgery.
Robots are also being used for colorectal procedures at Colchester Hospital, where they are said to be resulting in shorter hospital stays, smaller incisions and improved outcomes. A specialist weight loss clinic at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital is using a robot to carry out bariatric surgeries in a bid to cut waiting lists.
Meanwhile, virtual wards are springing up all over the UK, and these are allowing patients to receive hospital-grade care in their own homes. Patients in these wards are remotely monitored by a team of medics with the aid of
36 | TOMORROW'S CLEANING apps, wearables and other devices.
As medical procedures become increasingly digitalised, hospital cleaning is following suit and robots are being deployed all over the country. For example, a robot recently joined the Royal Surrey NHS Trust team where it has been enhancing cleaning quality and improving consistency. It is also allowing humans to concentrate on more critical areas for infection transmission, such as handrails, door handles, lifts and the doors to wards.
Stoke Mandeville Hospital has also brought in its own floor cleaning robot, a humanoid machine named Chloe which is proving particularly popular on the children’s wards with its expressive ‘eyes’ and amusing backchat.
Additionally, decontamination robots have been trialled at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Hospital rooms need to be left vacant for several hours after certain medical procedures have taken place, but the robot is said to be able to reduce this period of downtime to 10 minutes, allowing more procedures to be carried out.
Sensor technology is also playing an increasingly important role in healthcare cleaning. This can be used to monitor footfall in healthcare washrooms and inform cleaning teams when an extra service check might be required. This technology can also be used to alert teams to spillages so that action can be taken before they become a safety hazard.
Hand hygiene is extremely important for all staff members, patients and visitors, so sensor technology is being used to ensure that hospital washrooms are kept well stocked with essential products such as soap and paper.
For example, Tork Vision Cleaning uses people-counters and connected dispensers to provide real-time data on cleaning requirements. This allows healthcare teams to stay ahead of the game and use a smartphone, tablet or computer to remotely check on which dispensers are running low and which washroom cubicles are receiving high levels of traffic.
Good training is vital to ensure that healthcare workers and cleaners understand the importance of proper cleaning and hygiene. Here again, technology plays an important role.
Essity offers a remote hand hygiene training module for healthcare workers. Tork Clean Hands Training invites users into a digital world where they are confronted with a series of scenarios in which hand hygiene needs to be carried out.
Surface cleaning is also vitally important in any healthcare setting, but cleaners need to be taught how to sanitise all patient areas in the most logical and hygienic way possible.
Essity’s Tork Interactive Clean Hospital Training takes staff through various real-world cleaning scenarios in a
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