Supporting Safe and Practical Use of AI Across Health and Social Care
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April 2, 2026
Artificial intelligence is already beginning to shape how Health and Social Care services are delivered, from supporting clinical decision‑making to reducing administrative burden. At the latest Digital Dispatches session, speakers from across the system explored how the new HSC AI Framework provides practical support for adopting AI safely, ethically and effectively.
Tom Simpson, Director of DHCNI, outlined why the framework is needed now. With AI tools already in use and becoming more common, the key question is no longer whether to use AI, but how to use it responsibly. The framework offers a shared starting point for organisations, setting out clear principles around safety, transparency, fairness and human oversight, while remaining deliberately non‑prescriptive. This allows teams at different levels of digital maturity to innovate with confidence, without being slowed by unnecessary bureaucracy. 
From a technical and operational perspective, Eddie Ritson highlighted how the framework helps teams understand what makes AI different from traditional digital tools. Unlike systems that simply store or move information, AI can interpret, predict and generate insights, which brings new risks as well as opportunities. The framework helps organisations ask the right questions about accountability, data quality and oversight, ensuring AI tools are introduced in a way that improves services rather than creating new risks or unintended consequences.
Bringing a frontline clinical view, Dr Paddy Sterling, GP and member of the HSC AI Steering Group, described the framework as a genuinely practical guide for clinicians. He highlighted its value in cutting through hype and focusing on real-world use, supporting safer adoption of tools such as ambient voice technology, triage support and population health analytics. For clinicians, the framework provides reassurance that data protection, governance and patient trust are being considered consistently, while still enabling innovation that can reduce workload, improve patient experience and support better population health outcomes.
Together, the speakers emphasised that the HSC AI Framework is not a rulebook or a final answer, but a living guide designed to help teams across the system move forward together. By offering clarity, shared principles and proportionate safeguards, it supports innovation that is grounded in patient care, professional judgement and public trust.
The full framework is available to read and provides practical guidance for anyone interested in how AI can be used safely and responsibly across Health and Social Care. HSC AI Framework
View Digital Dispatches here:
Digital Dispatches: Episode 49, AI Framework for HSC
Supporting Safe and Practical Use of AI Across Health and Social Care
Page last updated: 2 April 2026