The North West Radiotherapy Network, made up of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust, and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; has published a research strategy setting out priority actions for data, AI, automation, and digital systems over the next five years.
The ambition, the network provides, is to create a research ecosystem capable of delivering more equitable radiotherapy through collaboration and innovation, with common principles for the radiotherapy research community, and a “local where possible, centralised when required” approach.
A commitment is made to making data more meaningful, by building the infrastructure, workforce, governance, and partnerships needed to “turn data into continuous patient benefit”, with an aim to support safer treatment and reduce unwarranted variation. As part of this, the North West clinical trials database will be expanded to create a region-wide register of studies, key contacts, resource requirements, and opportunities for cross-trust involvement. A coordinated approach will be developed to radiotherapy data infrastructure and access, “avoiding dependence on any single product”.
The North West will become a “national vanguard for AI and data-driven radiotherapy”, the network proposes, removing institutional silos and integrating information to offer a better picture of patient pathways from treatment delivery to outcomes and lived experience.
Representation will be sought from clinical oncology, therapeutic radiography, informatics, and digital teams for a data working group, who will work on a roadmap covering priority datasets, governance requirements, technical dependencies, data standards, and opportunities for alignment with national programmes. This working group will be responsible for defining and implementing minimum regional standards for radiotherapy benchmarking and research datasets, to ensure data generated can be used for AI evaluation and service improvement.
A regional data flow mapping exercise is also planned, according to the network, to identify where key radiotherapy data is stored, manually transferred, or inaccessible across treatment planning systems, oncology information systems, imaging systems, and EPRs.
Participation will be sought for the region on national AI and innovation programmes, and the data working group will come up with a practical framework for evaluating AI and automation tools, incorporating requirements for clinical safety, data quality, and post-implementation monitoring.
“AI and automation should be treated as part of a wider learning system rather than just a standalone technology,” says the network. “The region should therefore focus on creating the conditions for safe AI evaluation: curated datasets, clear clinical use cases, bias assessment, prospective monitoring, workforce capability and transparent communication with patients.”
A key facet of research delivery will be integration across the pathway, the network shares, with radiotherapy dose and delivery data linked to diagnosis, staging, systemic therapy, imaging, toxicity, outcomes, patient experience, and wider clinical context.
The network also plans to build on partnerships, developing industry and vendor relationships for innovation pilots, and prioritising a “do things well, once” approach to reduce duplication, combine strengths, and coordinate delivery. Industry partners will be invited to regional research exchange days to discuss opportunities for collaboration and present innovations.
Introducing the strategy, Tim Maughan, clinical director of research at Clatterbridge, said: “By working together, sharing expertise and supporting one another, we can create a research environment that not only generates new knowledge but also translates it rapidly into better outcomes and experiences for the patients we serve.”
Wider trend: Health data and research
A 10-year strategy for UK pharmacy has set out a shared vision to make research “an integral, accessible and inclusive part of every pharmacist’s and pharmacy technician’s career”. Developed by the UK Pharmacy Research Advisory Group, the strategy lists strategic goals across building research skills and leadership, developing supportive systems and structures, fostering a research-positive culture, and embracing digital and technological innovation. PRAG highlights a theme to develop a professional culture where research activity is valued as part of pharmacy roles, and capabilities will be in place for the use of digital tools and emerging technologies in routine practice.
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is looking to “the road ahead” in its latest trust strategy, recognising the increasing role that tech, data, and AI will play in shaping urgent and emergency care delivery. Introducing the strategy, trust chair Stuart Corbridge and chief executive Kevin Scollay note: “The decade ahead will be shaped by uncertainty. Changes in national policy, health and care systems, population need, workforce expectations and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, will continue to reshape how care is accessed, coordinated and delivered.”
NHS England has awarded a contract with a total value of £9.9 million to Kainos Software Limited for support with a range of services in preparation for the new NHS Online Trust. The contract covers data management services, digital definition, DevOps, and end-to-end development, as part of the virtual hospital programme Alpha Development Phase 2. According to NHSE, the contract may also be used in support of “short term/time bound/outcome based statements of work” across related initiatives. NHSE lists key deliverables for clinical workflow tooling including standard operating procedures to enable standardisation and scalability of processes central to trust operations and care delivery; integration with national NHSE systems to support national reporting; and integration with the NHS App.
