Mersey Care joins strategic partnership to pioneer AI technology and improve patient outcomes

Mersey Care has entered into a strategic partnership with the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) Hartree Centre which aims to advance Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare across the Trust to optimise patient outcomes.

The Hartree Centre, which helps UK businesses and organisations to explore and adopt supercomputing, data science and AI technologies for enhanced productivity, smarter innovation and economic growth, will work with Mersey Care to realise the potential of advanced digital technoligies within the NHS.

Prof Joe Rafferty CBE, Mersey Care's Chief Executive Officer, said: "We’re the largest provider of some of the most specialist mental healthcare in the NHS and the data we produce allows us to talk about the inter-relationship between physical, mental and social health.

"Our vision is not merely to create a world class digital research centre but to deliver meaningful results to our patients, service users and our communities where we know health inequalities affect lives, economies and opportunity."

The new partnership follows the announcement of £3.4 billion funding to support digital transformation in the NHS as part of wider plans to boost productivity from Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt MP.  The two organisations will work together on a series of scoping projects to explore the adoption and integration of advanced digital technologies, from AI to quantum computing.

Among the projects the partnership is aiming to address are: 

• Outsmarting disease with faster and more accurate detection and diagnosis
• More personalised healthcare
• An upskilled workforce empowering healthcare professionals with the skills to harness digital technologies for improved productivity and patient care, with less time spent on administrative tasks
• Advanced AI systems for enhanced prediction and decision-making across the board, including mental health care.

Located at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory, as Sci-Tech Daresbury in the Liverpool City Region, the Hartree Centre is the UK's only supercomputing centre dedicated to industry engagement.

Paul Vernon, Head of STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory, said: “There's never been a better time for UK organisations to take advantage of the incredible innovations happening within AI, and this collaboration is an exciting example of its real potential to generate long-term societal and economic impact.

“By empowering UK industry to embrace cutting edge digital technologies, we are supporting the government's vision of cultivating a competitive and pioneering digital economy, and to position the UK as a global AI superpower."