A tech start-up offering a “WhatsApp for doctors” service has secured a nationwide contract with BT as it tries to ease the strain on the NHS and replace the outdated pager system.
Medic Bleep, the brainchild of Imperial College London graduate Dr Sandeep Bansal, will work with the telecoms firm to roll out the app across the NHS over the next year.
It will help in the battle against Covid-19.
The firm says medical staff save time — estimated at 21 minutes per shift for nurses and 48 minutes for doctors — by using the secure messaging app rather than pagers.
Dr Bansal, 34, said: “Frontline staff currently waste time stood by the phone thanks to antiquated pager and switchboard systems.
This lack of efficiency ultimately wastes money and puts a huge strain on the NHS.
When there is a national health crisis, the NHS cannot afford to be put under this avoidable strain.”
