Health and Social Care Secretary announces £21 million fund to roll out artificial intelligence across the NHS

Health and Social Care Secretary announces £21 million fund to roll out artificial intelligence across the NHS

NHS staff will be given the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology to diagnose and treat patients more quickly thanks to a new £21 million fund announced by the Health and Social Care Secretary.

NHS Trusts will be able to apply to the AI Diagnostic Fund to accelerate the deployment of the most promising AI imaging and decision support tools to help diagnose patients more quickly for conditions such as cancers, strokes and heart conditions.

The Health and Social Care Secretary has also committed to rolling out AI stroke-diagnosis technology to 100% of stroke networks by the end of 2023 – up from 86% today  – helping thousands of patients suffering from a stroke get treated faster.

The ring-fenced funding was announced by Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, ahead of the NHS’s 75th birthday.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Artificial intelligence is already transforming the way we deliver healthcare and AI tools are already making a significant impact across the NHS in diagnosing conditions earlier, meaning people can be treated more quickly.

“As we celebrate the NHS’s 75th birthday and look ahead to the future, I’m focused on adopting the latest cutting-edge technology across our health and care system to ensure we can continue to deliver the best care for our patients and cut waiting times, which is one of the government’s five priorities.”

This AI Diagnostic Fund will include the use of AI tools to analyse chest X-Rays – the most common tool used to diagnose lung cancer – which is the leading cause of cancer death in the UK. With over 600,000 chest X-rays performed each month in England, the deployment of diagnostic AI tools to more NHS Trusts will support clinicians to diagnose cancer patients earlier, improving patient outcomes.