Overview of the NHS AI Lab Evaluation

An evaluation of the NHS AI Lab has highlighted the necessity for national support to effectively scale and sustain AI initiatives in healthcare.

Background of the NHS AI Lab

• Established in 2019 by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
• Received a £250 million investment aimed at promoting the safe integration of AI in health and social care.
• Focused on addressing significant healthcare challenges such as:
  1. Early cancer detection
  2. Dementia treatment
  3. Personalized care

Independent Evaluation Findings

In March 2024, NHS England commissioned researchers from the University of Edinburgh to conduct an independent evaluation of the AI Lab’s progress. The findings were published on April 29, 2025, and revealed:

• The AI Lab has made considerable progress in supporting innovations and understanding the development, implementation, and evaluation of AI technologies.
• However, the digital transformation in health and care has been slow and uneven, with challenges in quantifying the impacts of long-term systemic interventions.
• Scaling AI technologies has been complicated due to uncertainties in procurement pathways, hindering clear adoption processes.

Recommendations for Future AI Development

The evaluation emphasizes the importance of:

• Establishing a long-term vision and stable leadership to enable consistent progress in AI integration.
• Creating enduring strategic frameworks that can withstand leadership changes.
• Adopting a coordinated approach to foster innovation, which includes:
  1. Developing capabilities
  2. Building knowledge-sharing communities
  3. Establishing necessary infrastructures
  4. Supporting implementation
  5. Developing regulation and market management strategies

Insights from NHS Leadership

Dominic Cushnan, director of AI, imaging, and deployment at NHS England, stated that the evaluation’s findings will guide the ongoing development of AI strategies aimed at transitioning the NHS from analogue to digital health and care.

Importance of User-Centric AI Development

The evaluation stresses that AI development should be rooted in the needs of the system and service users. It is crucial to involve:

• Service delivery organizations
• Frontline staff
• The public

Failure to align developed systems with the needs of health and social care providers poses a risk of non-adoption.

Call for Rigorous Assessment

The report recommends that both individual projects and larger programs undergo thorough assessments, ideally through longitudinal mixed-methods studies, ensuring that evidence is central to the selection and scaling of technologies.

Conclusion

Professor Kathrin Cresswell, the lead researcher on the evaluation, noted that the NHS AI Lab has positioned the UK at the forefront of AI-driven healthcare change. The evaluation provides valuable empirical evidence to inform future efforts both in the UK and internationally.