NHS Staff

The NHS is increasingly exploring AI for administrative efficiency, clinical decision support, and patient communication. But the stakes are higher than in most workplaces — patient data is classified as special category data under UK GDPR, and any AI use must comply with NHS England's clinical safety standards (DCB0129/DCB0160), the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC), and local clinical governance frameworks.

Public Skills Hub helps NHS staff understand AI tools in plain English, assess the risks specific to healthcare settings, and navigate procurement routes for new technology. Our guides on AI and UK GDPR and AI risks are particularly relevant for NHS teams handling patient information.

If your trust or integrated care board (ICB) is considering AI tools, start with our AI Readiness Checker to assess your current position, then use the AI Risk Assessment Starter template to evaluate specific tools against your clinical governance requirements — and pair vendor assessment with DTAC.

**Common questions you face:** Is it safe to use AI for admin tasks if patient data isn't involved? What standards must an AI tool meet for NHS use? Which framework should we buy through? How does the Procurement Act 2023 affect NHS purchasing? Our AI for Admin Tasks, AI Vendor Due Diligence Questionnaire, Procurement Route Explainer, and Procurement Act 2023 resources answer each in NHS-relevant terms.

**Where to start:** For day-to-day admin (rotas, correspondence, meeting notes), the AI for Admin Tasks guide and Workplace AI Policy template are the right entry point — and they work even where patient-identifiable data is off-limits. For procurement, use the Procurement Route Explainer with the contract value and type to confirm the framework or competitive route. The NHS sector hub aggregates the most relevant resources.