‘Innovation alone cannot overcome NHS pressures’, warns head of doctors’ trade body

Professor Mumtaz Patel, president of the Royal College of Physicians, warned that AI and other innovations alone cannot overcome NHS pressures, responding to a General Medical Council report finding that 41% of doctors struggle to provide adequate care at least weekly. Patel said improving patient care requires investment in digital systems and in the people who deliver care, and called for workforce reform.

RCP president responds as study from regulator suggests that AI and other tech could play a role in relieving pressures being felt by a significant percentage of frontline health professionals The head of the UK’s main trade membership body for doctors has warned that investment in artificial intelligence and other new innovations cannot, on its own, relieve the pressures facing the NHS and its staff. The UK’s regulator for doctors and other clinicians, the General Medical Council GMC , last week published a research report which found that more than 40% of respondents experience frequent difficulty providing a sufficient level of care to patients. The study’s conclusions include a finding that “more effective staff deployment through better rota planning, and the adoption of technology and AI, show promising efficiencies that can create space for more intentional, patient-centred interactions”. In response to the report, the president of trade body the Royal College of Physicians, Professor Mumtaz Patel, agreed that the regulator’s survey “highlights the reality facing many doctors across the NHS”. Related content Parts of NHS making ‘glacially slow progress’ on digital, MPs warn https://www.publictechnology.net/2025/01/31/health-and-social-care/parts-of-nhs-making-glacially-slow-progress-on-digital-mps-warn/ NHS apologises and admits Palantir engineers have access to identifiable patient data https://www.publictechnology.net/2026/08/03/health-and-social-care/nhs-apologises-and-admits-palantir-engineers-have-access-to-identifiable-patient-data/ NHS spending hundreds of millions a year on paper record storage, analysis finds https://www.publictechnology.net/2026/08/11/health-and-social-care/nhs-spending-hundreds-of-millions-a-year-on-paper-record-storage-analysis-finds/ “While it is encouraging that clinicians are finding ways to use technology and AI to spend more time with patients, innovation alone cannot overcome the workforce and system pressures that continue to affect patient care,” she said. “According to the GMC, more than four in ten 41% doctors say they struggle to provide the standard of care they would like at least weekly, largely because of workload, staffing shortages and administrative burden. Improving patient care ultimately requires investment not only in digital systems, but in the people who deliver care. Doctors need the time, support and working conditions that allow them to develop their skills and provide the high-quality care patients deserve.” Patel added: “This report reinforces the urgent need for workforce reform. Technology can support better care, but it cannot compensate for chronic staffing shortages or training pressures. The much-anticipated NHS England 10 Year Workforce Plan must be developed through meaningful engagement with clinicians and royal colleges if it is to succeed.”