UK hospital taps AI to optimise workforce planning and relieve admin burden
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with the Hartree Centre, is rolling out an AI-driven scheduling system that automates complex rota planning, reduces administrative workload and supports staff wellbeing.
In a collaboration between Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Hartree Centre, a new AI-based staff scheduling system has been developed to address the complex task of roster planning in one of Europe’s busiest children’s hospitals.
Clinicians traditionally spend substantial time creating rotas manually, juggling annual leave, absences, working patterns and on-call rules.
The AI system automatically generates balanced on-call schedules by incorporating real-world constraints such as staff skills, availability and patterns, producing fairer and more predictable rotas.
The interface allows clinicians to review and adjust schedules while maintaining human oversight, freeing up time previously spent on spreadsheets and administrative tasks, and potentially improving staff wellbeing and operational efficiency.
Future phases aim to expand the tool toward full workforce management, with the potential for NHS-wide scaling.
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