Independent Commission led by NHS doctors sets out blueprint to accelerate safe AI adoption in healthcare

New recommendations based on extensive public engagement set out how the NHS could give patients faster access to AI advances with proportionate safeguards to protect patient safety and maintain high levels of trust.

The National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare has today, 10 September 2026, published its recommendations on how the UK can strengthen the regulation of AI in healthcare, so it remains safe, keeps pace with innovation, and continues to earn people’s trust. 

AI is already used in the NHS to spot serious health problems early, for example strokes and skin cancers, and to free up clinicians’ time through voice-enabled technologies. The Commission’s recommendations aim to help many more patients benefit safely and quickly, by supporting the UK to become the best place for innovators to build and safely test AI, the best place for healthcare professionals to use it and, most importantly, the best place for patients to engage with it in their care. 

In launching this report, Professors Alastair Denniston and Henrietta Hughes, both practicing NHS doctors, said:  

“The National Commission into the Regulation of AI in Healthcare is about defining what we want our future AI-enabled healthcare system to look like, and how we use regulation to shape that future. This is about creating a future healthcare system that is increasingly tech-enabled and always people-centred.” 

Lawrence Tallon, the MHRA’s Chief Executive said: 

 “I welcome this authoritative and independent report which sets out in more detail than ever before how we should best regulate AI in healthcare.  

“We have heard clearly about the opportunities of AI to speed up and improve care, and to release more of clinicians’ time for the essentially human aspects of their work with patients.