Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Hartree Centre are using digital technologies to develop a smart staff scheduling system.

The new system aims to ease complex rota planning, reduce clinician admin time and support staff wellbeing and patient care.

The project is part of a new strategic agreement to collaborate using advanced digital technologies and AI to tackle practical challenges in the NHS, to improve staff wellbeing and resilience for even better patient care. 

Alder Hey is one of Europe's busiest children's hospitals and provides 24-hour care.

The Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation team has developed an AI-driven system that automatically generates balanced on-call schedules. It takes into consideration annual leave, working patterns and staff skills, and produces rotas that are fair, practical, and more predictable.

Professor Iain Hennessey, Director and Founder of Innovation at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Sometimes the most impactful innovations are often the simplest and improving how we build our rotas is a perfect example of technology giving clinicians more time to care.

"There is no better use of advanced computing than helping a children's hospital run more efficiently, allowing clinicians to concentrate on what they do best.

"Through this collaboration we will be able to harness expertise and the latest technology to help make this a reality. This is what innovation and high-precision computing can do, put people back at the heart of care."