AI use by NHS communications teams is increasing, but progress is uneven: Report

Key Summary

• NHS teams are using AI to create content, simplify complex information, analyse data and improve efficiency
• NHS Confederation survey found 55 per cent are using AI tools, but access to tools and skills is uneven
• The report forms part of a wider project being led by the NHS Communications AI Taskforce
• While AI is helping communication professionals, human oversight continues to be crucial
• The report calls for an effective use of AI within a robust framework to provide effective guidance

Though NHS communications teams are increasingly using AI, the access to tools and skills is uneven, and clearer governance is needed to ensure safe and effective adoption, says a report by the NHS Confederation.

The report noted that NHS teams use AI to create content, simplify complex information, analyse data and improve efficiency.

This is being done when communications teams are facing budget cuts and rising demand, as well as needing to engage with diverse patient groups and other stakeholders.

More than half (55 per cent) of NHS communications professionals are using AI tools, with a further 41 per cent expressing interest in adopting them.

However, uptake is uneven, with many teams lacking access to the necessary tools or skills.

Nearly half of the respondents (48 per cent) have described themselves as being at a ‘beginner’ level.

The survey covered 414 NHS communications professionals, three focus groups and desk research.

The report forms part of a wider project being led by the NHS Communications AI Taskforce in partnership with the NHS Confederation.

Communications teams that are using AI claim it is helping them work faster, particularly when simplifying technical language into plain English, generating first drafts or analysing feedback from patients and staff.

However, human oversight continues to be crucial in ensuring accuracy, empathy and alignment with NHS values.

This is particularly important for patient-facing information that is medical in nature. AI is therefore seen as an assistant to human expertise, not a replacement.

The report makes a number of recommendations that are now being taken forward by the NHS Communications AI Taskforce in partnership with the NHS Confederation.

The report claims that the informal use of AI is widespread and makes recommendations to ensure more effective use of AI within a robust framework to provide effective guidance.

Without agreed guardrails, practice will remain fragmented, with unmanaged risks to quality, trust and transparency, it added.

It pointed out that AI can improve clarity, reduce jargon and enhance health literacy, but only when used thoughtfully and with audience needs in mind.

The report said the Taskforce will create an online innovation and training hub to support NHS communicators.

It will help develop tools to support safe experimentation, including quality prompts, ethical checklists and peer feedback frameworks, it added.

NHS Confederation's director of communications Daniel Reynolds said, "A consistent theme across our research is that AI should enhance, not replace, the human qualities that define NHS communications."

"We need to embrace the opportunities offered by AI while moving away from the informal use we are seeing across NHS communications," he added.