How AI could help slash NHS hospital discharge delays
A new trial hopes to help doctors spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients
The roll out a new AI backed project
(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
Technology is being piloted to help free up NHS hospital beds occupied by people who are fit to be sent home. The platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help complete the documents needed to discharge patients, potentially saving hours of delays.
AI will extract information from medical records, including diagnoses and test results, to help medics draft discharge summaries before a patient goes home. The Press Association reports the move – which is being piloted at London's Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust – will allow doctors to spend less time on paperwork and more on care, according to UK health secretary Wes Streeting.
After a discharge summary is drafted with AI assistance, the document will be reviewed by healthcare professionals responsible for the patient. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter .
The current manual system can sometimes leave patients waiting for hours to be discharged as doctors may be too busy to fill in forms, according to the UK's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
We have asked the Welsh Government if it plans to take the technology forward in Wales. Mr Streeting has made clear he hopes to roll it out across England, saying: 'This potentially transformational discharge tool is a prime example of how we're shifting from analogue to digital as part of our 10-year health plan.
'We're using cutting-edge technology to build an NHS fit for the future and tackle the hospital backlogs that have left too many people waiting too long.
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'Doctors will spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients, getting people home to their families faster and freeing up beds for those who need them most.'
The tool for discharge summaries is not the only AI project backed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. In January he said AI will be used to 'turn around' the economy and public services.
And AI technology that helps organise notes quicker will be given to all 12,000 probation officers later this year. The system helps transcribe and take notes from meetings that officers have with offenders after they leave prison.
Speaking on a visit to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, the UK's technology secretary Peter Kyle said: 'This is exactly the kind of change we need – AI being used to give doctors, probation officers and other key workers more time to focus on delivering better outcomes and speeding up vital services.
'This Government inherited a public sector decimated by years of underinvestment and is crying out for reform. These AI exemplars show the best ways in which we're using tech to build a smarter, more efficient state.
'When we get this right across government, we're talking about unlocking £45billion in productivity gains, delivering our plan for change and investing in growth, not bureaucracy.'
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