Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to ensure that NHS trusts have access to similar AI technologies by having approved models in line with the provision of medical equipment.

The Department is working to accelerate the safe, ethical, and effective use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the whole healthcare system. The Department has already provided £113 million, through the NHS AI Health and Care Awards, to 86 AI technologies, which have been used in 40% of National Health Service acute trusts in England, and hundreds of Primary Care Networks across the United Kingdom. This funding has helped to generate the evidence needed to deploy effective AI tools across the NHS.

The NHS operates within a comprehensive regulatory framework for AI, underpinned by rigorous standards established by bodies including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Health Research Authority, and the Care Quality Commission. These agencies ensure that any AI technologies that are made available to the NHS are safe, effective, and ethical to use.

Additionally, the NICE, sponsored by the Department, conducts Early Value Assessments (EVA) which evaluate new health technologies for NHS use, considering clinical effectiveness and value for money. EVAs aim to give the NHS recommendations and highlight the accessibility of AI technologies, including which innovations work, offer good value for money, and meet system need.

For trusts procuring technology there is a standardised procurement route available through specialised procurement frameworks. These frameworks offer NHS trusts access to a list of suppliers who have met a set of standards to be invited to join the framework.