Case Study

AI transforms public services as one council cuts task time from days to minutes

A recent case study by Agilisys showcases how North Somerset Council's implementation of Generative AI is enhancing service delivery and operational efficiency across multiple departments:

⚡️ Reduced survey analysis time by 90%, freeing up staff for more meaningful work.

🚀 120+ staff across various services seamlessly integrated GenAI into their daily workflows.

💡 20+ high-impact use cases implemented in just one month, showcasing AI's versatility in public sector applications.

🔗 Download Agilisys case study to learn more.

Healthcare

NHS South West London ICB's Digital and Winter Planning Updates

NHS South West London ICB's September board meeting focused on integrating digital, workforce, and estates under a single Infrastructure Strategy. The SWL Urgent and Emergency Care Winter Plan for 2024-25 aims to increase capacity, improve productivity, and enhance patient flow. The plan includes expanding hospital-at-home and virtual ward capacity to 425 beds by March 2025, despite challenges like bed utilisation and financial constraints.

Digital tools are central to the ICB's urgent and emergency care plan for 2024-26, enhancing access, patient flow, workforce support, and efficiency. The Board Assurance Framework addresses cyber risks, aiming to reduce the risk score from 20-25 to 6 by September 2025 through a comprehensive cyber strategy and improved risk management practices. Data consistency and quality remain challenges for winter preparations and patient flow.

Healthcare Policy

NHS Needs Long-Term Financial Security for Community Care Shift

The NHS Confederation's survey of Integrated Care System (ICS) leaders reveals significant concerns about the lack of long-term financial security, which hampers efforts to shift more care to community and primary settings. Key findings include:

• 90% of ICS leaders are committed to reallocating resources for local community care, but only 54% have made progress.

• 87% believe current budgets are insufficient to meet their goals.

• 86% worry about the financial state of local authorities affecting their ambitions.

• Only 40% feel accountabilities between ICSs and NHS England are well-defined.

ICS leaders urge the government to provide the necessary support and freedom to focus on long-term goals, essential for sustainable health and care systems.

Science & Technology

AI Algorithm Revolutionises Drug Discovery

Researchers at Kings College London and Imperial College London have developed an AI algorithm, DrugSynthMC, to aid drug discovery. This tool generates thousands of drug-like molecules per second, expanding the diversity within drug libraries. Dr Filippo Prischi highlighted its ability to overcome limitations of existing collections by enhancing chemical diversity.

DrugSynthMC employs Monte Carlo Tree Search to predict possible outcomes and build chemical structures. It successfully generates compounds that are easy to synthesise, soluble, and non-toxic. Dr Olivier Pardo emphasised its efficiency and potential in AI-driven drug discovery. The tool is publicly available for the research community, as detailed in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling.

Health Policy

Seven priorities for health inequalities released by think tank

Experts have identified seven priorities for addressing health inequalities, urging the government to integrate these into their 10-year plan. Key recommendations include developing a cross-government health inequalities strategy, reorienting the NHS towards prevention, and transforming NHS-community relationships from "power over" to "power with."

Additional priorities involve tackling racism and discrimination within the NHS, enabling staff to address health inequalities, empowering local partnerships in financial decisions, and supporting local voluntary organisations. The Kings Fund emphasises the economic and moral imperatives of these actions, criticising the lack of a cohesive government approach and the detrimental focus on financial targets over quality and equity.