The stark mismatch between government rhetoric around the use of artificial intelligence and its implementation in the NHS in England is highlighted in your article (‘Ridiculous’ cuts to AI cancer tech funding in England could cost lives, experts warn, 31 March).
At the 2024 Labour party conference, Wes Streeting told his audience that AI “is happening” and made specific mention of its use in the diagnosis of skin cancer. The reality is different. Although AI for the diagnosis of skin lesions has indeed been successfully piloted by NHS England, its rollout has been significantly slowed over the last 12 months because of uncertainty relating to an early value assessment (EVA) by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). The EVA started in October 2023, with final recommendations only due to be published shortly. Nice is just not agile enough to move at the pace required for evaluating AI.
The NHS is in crisis. This tool, approved as safe by regulators, has the potential to reassure patients and avoid the necessity for hospital visits. The need to develop new processes to implement safe, effective technologies that will benefit patient care is urgent.
Dr Julia Schofield
Consultant dermatologist, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS trust
• Catherine Sims points out that breast screening is no longer automatic after the age of 70 (Letters, 1 April). May I also encourage the over-70s to ask for the bowel screening kit. The NHS says it sends these out every two years to those aged 54 to 74, but I’m 77 and I haven’t received one for six years. I now have stage four bowel cancer; if I’d had my screening done six years ago it would have been picked up much earlier. It’s more cost-effective to screen, and it would save lives.
Jane Ghosh
Bristol
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