AI technology is to be developed to scan NHS systems and flag safety issues in real time, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said.
The technology will then trigger inspections of the system earlier, it added.
In its first stage, a maternity outcomes signal system will launch across NHS trusts from November, to flag higher than expected rates of stillbirth, neonatal death and brain injury. But when fully implemented it could be used to identify patterns of abuse, serious injuries, deaths, or other incidents.
The CQC will then deploy inspection teams where concerns are raised.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said: ‘While most treatments in the NHS are safe, even a single lapse that puts a patient at risk is one too many. Behind every safety breach is a person – a life altered, a family devastated, sometimes by heart-breaking loss.
‘Patient safety and power are at the heart of our 10 Year Health Plan. By embracing AI and introducing world-first early warning systems, we’ll spot dangerous signs sooner and launch rapid inspections before harm occurs.
‘This technology will save lives – catching unsafe care before it becomes a tragedy. It’s a vital part of our commitment to move the NHS from analogue to digital, delivering better, safer care for everyone.’
CQC’s chief executive Sir Julian Hartley said: ‘We will develop a stronger focus on all dimensions of quality, using data which we and partners hold on inequalities in access, experience, and outcomes to spot and act on risk earlier.
‘We are already developing our new clearer, simpler, assessment approach, and in the future our experienced teams of inspectors, led by our newly appointed Chief Inspectors, will be able to conduct more inspections and share feedback on the findings more quickly – so that providers can make faster improvements, and the public have timely information about care.’
It comes as over 200 NHS organisations are set to be scrapped under the 10-year plan.
