Healthcare Roundup 3 November 2023

Train

The government launched its scheme to encourage patients who are facing long waits to travel for treatment. Around 400,000 people, or 5% of the waiting list, could be eligible. Bob Wachter, the US digital doctor who produced a report on NHS IT for former health and social care secretary Jeremy Hunt, told HSJ that progress has been slow and more central investment is needed.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak held an international summit on AI that triggered a number of announcements in the health space. The MHRA will create an AI-Airlock sandbox, and the DHSC will fund 64 trusts for chest x-ray AI to speed up the detection of lung cancer.