Lord Darzi’s latest report is confronting. But here is why our CEO, Neil Daly is optimistic about what it means for our NHS.
Written by Neil Daly, September 13th 2024
The National Health Service (NHS) is facing one of its most challenging periods in history. According to the recent Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England, led by Lord Darzi, the NHS is grappling with rising patient demand, an overstretched workforce, and outdated systems that are struggling to meet the healthcare needs of today. The report paints a stark picture: if the NHS fails to embrace transformative change, it risks being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of demand.
At the same time Keir Starmer has been abundantly clear that there is no more money coming without reform. This all paints a rather bleak picture but as always, frank admission of where we are is the first step to fixing our problems
Here is why I am hugely optimistic about what is coming next.
Like all revolutions, slowly then all at once
The Darzi report highlights a critical opportunity for the NHS to reset and reinvent itself through the adoption of advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). He called it a revolution, implying the rapid scale of the change we could see.
It is true that over the past decade, the NHS has missed chances to fully leverage digital tools that could shift healthcare by supporting the rising demand for clinical care. It is also true that the NHS invested in building the foundations for the AI revolution through the deployment of £113m to evaluate 86 AI solutions within the NHS, starting more than 4 years ago.
While the investment may seem relatively small, the signal has been significantly larger.
Lord Darzi’s report emphasizes that AI-driven healthcare is not just an option but a necessity. AI has the potential to relieve pressure on healthcare professionals, streamline patient pathways, and unlock productivity gains that could redefine how care is delivered. With the NHS struggling to meet patient demand, particularly in high-volume specialties like dermatology and ophthalmology, the adoption of AI represents a crucial turning point.
Applying AI to healthcare is no longer what could be done but what is being done.
AI is already transforming the way we deliver care in the UK. Our fantastic colleagues at Brainomix have led the way with their incredible AI stroke platform in widespread use across the NHS. Meanwhile, our autonomous AI skin cancer AIaMD is already evaluating around 10% of the urgent skin cancer referrals in England and we will double that in the next few months.
A recent independent report commissioned by NHS England and authored by Edge Health UK titled Evaluating Pathways for AI Dermatology in Skin Cancer Detection showed that
- AI Diagnostic Performance: DERM’s ability to detect skin cancer, particularly melanoma, has been exceptional. It achieved a Negative Predictive Value (NPV) of 99.8%, meaning that it accurately identified benign lesions, minimizing unnecessary referrals and freeing up specialists to focus on complex cases.
- Scaling Across NHS Sites: Currently used at 19 NHS sites, DERM has moved from pilot stages to regular use. Its autonomous capabilities allow it to process large volumes of skin lesion cases, triaging benign lesions without the need for human intervention. This speeds up diagnoses and alleviates pressure on specialists, aligning with the NHS’s goals of reducing waiting times in urgent suspected cancer (USC) pathways.
- Reducing the cost of skin cancer : The analysis showed that for every £1 invested in the implementation of the technology, there is a potential saving of up to £2.30.
The AI revolution in action.
The adoption of Skin Analytics and other AI technologies like Brainomix not only exemplifies the transformative potential of AI but also serves as a blueprint for future AI solutions in healthcare. As the Lord Darzi report states, the NHS has missed opportunities to shift from a “diagnose and treat” model to a “predict and prevent” one due to its slow digital uptake . DERM, however, shows how AI-driven technology can help reverse this trend by triaging patients effectively while preventing unnecessary treatments and releasing 30% of dermatologist appointments back to be used by the 435,000 patients on a dermatology waitlist as of the end of June.
What will stop us realising the potential of AI when we need it most?
The road to full-scale AI adoption across the NHS is not without its challenges. The Darzi report stresses that while AI holds immense promise, the NHS must overcome issues of fragmented procurement processes, and resistance to change.
Revolutions are uncomfortable. Change must be embraced to save our NHS.
Patient safety and therefore AI performance can not be compromised. But the evidence base is growing. The results shared above were collected from more than 30,000 patients where our AI assessed patients and final outcomes were collected. To put that in context, this is easily the amount a dermatologist is likely to see in their entire career.
Still, as AI tools like DERM become more prevalent, there will also be an increasing need for post-market surveillance to ensure the long-term safety, performance, and patient outcomes of these systems. Leading AIaMD companies have not only developed and implemented these systems but are constantly working with regulators and academics to improve them.
We can and will build the healthcare service of the future
As the AI revolution gathers pace, the NHS doesn’t have a unique opportunity to become a global leader in healthcare innovation as is said so often. It has the moral obligation to do so.
The time is now for the NHS to fully embrace AI-driven technologies that improve patient outcomes, reduce waiting times, and ensure the system is future-proofed for generations to come.