A.I. TO FREE UP HOSPITAL BEDS

Tool will end hours waiting for discharge paperwork

- BY SOPHIE HUSKISSON

AN AI tool to help cut the long hours patients can spend waiting to be discharged from hospital is being developed for the NHS.

It is hoped it will free up doctors to spend more time treating patients as well as opening up bed spaces more quickly to clear A&E backlogs.

The tool helps draft discharge notes by extracting details from medical records such as diagnoses and test results.

That will cut the wait for patients ready to go home once their care is complete, or needing to be referred to other services.

Unveiling the trial at London's Chelsea and Westminster hospital, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle recalled how his late father would sometimes be stuck in a hospital bed for more than a day waiting to be discharged.