The trust is using MBI ROVA, an AI system that automatically analyses clinical documents to identify patients who no longer require treatment or where further follow-up is needed.

The new system supports UHNM's waiting list validation process and in the first week following its introduction it reviewed more than a million clinical documents and identified almost 1,500 patients who can be safely removed from UHNM's waiting list.

Sue Perks, head of elective access at UHNM, said: ‘Validating our waiting list is vital to ensuring patients are in the right place for their care, but it's also a time-consuming process. ROVA enables us to focus our resources where they are needed most by automatically highlighting the patients who no longer need to wait for treatment.

‘ROVA means we can make sure patients are treated sooner and that our waiting list data reflects the true picture. This means a better experience for our patients and more efficient use of our clinical capacity.'

The system, which is being piloted as part of a 12-month trial, can also be programmed to highlight any wider errors in the waiting list process. 

UHNM has plans for all of its clinical care groups to start using the technology.