Milton Keynes University Hospital forms AI partnership with Beamtree UK

Milton Keynes University Hospital Foundation Trust has entered an agreement with Beamtree UK which will see the formation of the first-of-its-kind global centre of excellence to promote AI and automation in the NHS.

Under the agreement, Milton Keynes University Hospital will evaluate Beamtree’s AI solutions and assess their applicability to an NHS setting. If it judges they will make a significant impact, they will collaborate with the company to scale the solutions across the NHS.

In addition, the two organisations have agreed to co-invest in developing more AI applications.

Professor Joe Harrison, CEO at Milton Keynes University Hospital, said: “The NHS has always been a test bed for some of the world’s most important medical innovations. This partnership means Milton Keynes University Hospital will continue this proud tradition and help to bring new ideas to the NHS.

“Automation and digitisation must be the way we modernise the service to protect our staff from burnout and give patients a safe, high-quality service.”

One of the solutions that will be appraised is Beamtree’s Ainsoff Deterioration Index. Trials into the index have shown it has a greater sensitivity for predicting patient deterioration up to 24 hours before an event, than other solutions. It also led to fewer false alarms and reduced patient admissions to intensive care.

Tim Kelsey, Beamtree Global CEO, said: “Milton Keynes has a world-renowned reputation as a pioneer in the digital sphere, with an ability to source, implement and scale the best IT products on the market.

“Beamtree is delighted to join their digital eco-system and I look forward to even closer working with Professor Harrison and his world-class team.”

Beamtree is an Australian company that first launched in the UK in the second half of 2021. Milton Keynes became the first hospital in the world to put in place Beamtree’s assisted clinical coding system.