Starting with maternity care in November, AI technology will be developed to scan NHS systems to flag safety issues and trigger crucial inspections earlier.
The new safety warning system, being developed as part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, will analyse healthcare data and ring the alarm bell on emerging safety issues.
A new maternity outcomes signal system will launch across NHS trusts from November, using near real-time data to flag higher than expected rates of stillbirth, neonatal death and brain injury. When fully implemented, it could analyse hospital databases to identify patterns of abuse, serious injuries, deaths or other incidents.
Where concerns are raised, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will deploy specialist inspection teams to take action.
“This technology will save lives – catching unsafe care before it becomes a tragedy. It’s a vital part of our commitment to move the NHS from analogue to digital, delivering better, safer care for everyone,” said health and social care secretary Wes Streeting.
First in the world
The adoption of the AI warning system is underpinned by the government’s transformation of the NHS – one of the three shifts outlined in the 10 Year Health Plan.
“The NHS in England will be the first country in the world to trial an AI-enabled warning system to flag patient safety issues, which will rapidly analyse routine hospital data and reports submitted by healthcare staff from community settings,” explained Meghana Pandit, co-national medical director – secondary care, NHS England.
The system is built on the NHS Federated Data Platform, which allows healthcare staff to securely access the information they need in one place. That means less paperwork and manual inspections for staff, and more time caring for patients.
“We are already developing our new clearer, simpler assessment approach, and in the future our experienced teams of inspectors, led by our newly appointed chief inspectors, will be able to conduct more inspections and share feedback on the findings more quickly – so that providers can make faster improvements, and the public have timely information about care,” said Julian Hartley, chief executive of the CQC.
