AI IS being rolled out in healthcare to get patients faster treatment on one of the most common types of cancer in the UK.
Millions of people across the South East are set to benefit from faster skin cancer checks as NHS England South East rolls out artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The move is intended speed up assessment, provide earlier reassurance, and help patients who need specialist care to be seen sooner.
NHS figures show dermatology now receives more urgent suspected cancer referrals than any other specialty in England, with demand rising by around 170% over the past decade.
Around 60% of dermatology referrals are made through the urgent suspected skin cancer pathway, but only about 6% result in a confirmed skin cancer diagnosis.
To deal with this, the NHS in the South East will roll out Skin Analytics’ DERM technology across 18 acute trusts from this autumn.
It will constitute the largest deployment of autonomous medical AI in the NHS to date.
The technology, procured by NHS England South East Region on behalf of all providers, will help assess urgent suspected skin cancer referrals, so patients can receive reassurance or specialist care sooner.
By helping clinical teams identify which patients need specialist review, the AI technology can safely reduce unnecessary outpatient appointments, free up clinicians to focus on more complex cases and help bring down waiting lists.
Trained staff capture high-quality dermoscopic images using approved equipment, and DERM then analyses the images to support clinical triage.
Where a lesion is assessed as benign, the patient can be discharged from the urgent pathway with appropriate safety-netting advice.
Where a lesion is classified as pre-cancerous or cancerous, a dermatologist reviews the case and decides the next step.
South East modelling suggests that up to one third of urgent suspected skin cancer referrals could be safely discharged before a patient’s first outpatient appointment.
This could release an estimated 13,500 consultant hours each year – equivalent to capacity for around 27,000 additional appointments across the region.
Daghni Rajasingam, Regional Chief Medical Officer for NHS England in the South East, said: “For patients, a suspected cancer referral can be an anxious time.
“Using AI safely alongside clinical expertise means many people can receive reassurance sooner, while those who need further investigation can be prioritised for specialist care.
“This rollout will also free up thousands of hours of valuable clinical time, helping teams focus on patients with the most complex needs and creating capacity for thousands more appointments.
“It is a fantastic example of how the South East is harnessing technology to turn the ambitions of the 10-Year Health Plan into better, faster care–improving access, supporting our workforce and delivering better outcomes for patients.”
Neil Daly, founder and CEO of Skin Analytics, said: “Together with NHS England South East, we are showing what six years of evidence can deliver when innovation is adopted at scale: shorter waits, earlier detection and more dermatologist time focused on the patients who need it most.
“This is what the government’s 10 Year Health Plan looks like when ambition becomes reality – and it offers a model that the wider NHS can follow.”
Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals’ NHS Foundation Trust and University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust are among the trusts in the region already seeing the benefits of DERM.
At Buckinghamshire Healthcare, 35% of patients assessed using DERM have been safely discharged with no further action needed.
Dr Alexandra Kemp is a Consultant Dermatologist and Trust Cancer Clinical Director at Amersham Hospital, part of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, where DERM is already in use.
She said: “Across the country referrals for suspected skin cancer are continuing to rise and there are not enough dermatologists to manage these referrals.
“AI DERM is a clinically proven AI device that has enabled us, through image assessment, to quickly identify non-cancerous cases allowing the dermatologists in Buckinghamshire to focus time on skin cancers, and at the same time freeing up more capacity to see other common but sometimes debilitating skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and acne.”
