Ayub Bhayat, director of data analytics at NHS England, told delegates at NHS ConfedExpo in Manchester: ‘Through the implementation of the 70-odd sites that we're currently in, we've already delivered, nearly 80,000 extra procedures in our theatres using existing space.'

Bhayat also told delegates about Chelsea and Westminster Hospital's trial of AI-assisted discharge notes, which could save resident doctors between 30 and 90 minutes per patient.

He said: ‘There is work to do. Regulation needs to change with some of this stuff and be forward-thinking to allow some of these things to progress at a faster pace, while staying safe and making sure that we're ethical, making sure that the guardrails are correct.'

On this week's Spending Review, Bhayat said: ‘£10bn is a good amount of money to really do some good things across the NHS. I think, like every part of the public sector, if there's more funding, you can do more things, there's choices to be made.'

He added: ‘Spending £10bn on our digital data and technology infrastructure is a healthy amount over the next four years.'