The Science and Technology Facillities Council (STFC) Hartree Centre and Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust are using advanced digital technologies to develop a smart staff scheduling system that will ease staff rota planning, reduce clinician admin, and support staff wellbeing.
The work is the first phase of a new strategic agreement to collaborate using advanced digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to tackle practical NHS challenges.
Balancing care, capacity and wellbeing
One of Europe’s biggest and busiest children’s hospitals, Alder Hey provides 24-hour care, balancing planned surgery with emergency demand.
Making sure the right staff with the right skills are available at all times requires careful and complex rota planning.
Senior clinicians spend considerable time each month managing rotas using manual spreadsheets, juggling everything from annual leave to absences, working patterns and on-call rules, while maintaining service continuity.
As these service demands continue to grow, the trust identified the need for a modern, reliable scheduling system that frees up valuable clinician time, while supporting staff wellbeing, operational efficiency and patient care.
Designed with clinicians
Under a new joint statement of endeavour, the Hartree Centre and Alder Hey have been exploring how advanced digital technologies can transform staff scheduling for the NHS.
In close collaboration with clinicians, the Hartree National Centre for Digital Innovation team has developed an AI-driven system that automatically generates balanced on-call schedules.
By incorporating real-world factors such as annual leave, working patterns and staff skills, it can produce rotas that are fair, practical, and more predictable.
A user-friendly interface enables clinicians to review and adjust schedules quickly, maintaining human oversight while replacing manual spreadsheets with a more efficient and reliable approach.
More time to care
Professor Iain Hennessey, Director and Founder of Innovation at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said:
Sometimes the most impactful innovations are often the simplest and improving how we build our rotas is a perfect example of technology giving clinicians more time to care.
There is no better use of advanced computing than helping a children’s hospital run more efficiently, allowing clinicians to concentrate on what they do best.
Through this collaboration we will be able to harness expertise and the latest technology to help make this a reality. This is what innovation and high-precision computing can do, put people back at the heart of care.
While the first phase of the project supports on-call planning, future development will work towards full workforce rota management. Ultimately, the technology has the potential to be scaled across the NHS, helping to improve resilience and efficiency.
Improving lives through innovation
Having collaborated on new technologies since 2015, the new agreement between the Hartree Centre and Alder Hey represents a strategic commitment to developing technologies that improve patient care and staff wellbeing.
It will also support Alder Hey in the delivery of its new AI strategy.
Kate Royse, Director of the Hartree Centre, said:
It is extremely exciting to continue our work with Alder Hey as it uses advanced AI and digital technologies to tackle real challenges facing the NHS, while supporting the wellbeing of both patients and staff.
This is a clear example of how the Hartree Centre’s expertise can help the NHS to strengthen workforce planning, improve operational efficiency, and support staff, without compromising patient care.
A decade of collaboration
Located at STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory, at Sci-Tech Daresbury in the Liverpool City Region, the Hartree Centre is the UK’s leading supercomputing centre dedicated to working with industry and the public sector.
It is home to some of the UK’s most advanced supercomputing experts and technologies, from AI and high-performance computing to data analytics.
Previous collaborative work with Alder Hey has included:
- providing AI and data analytics expertise to help Alder Hey become the UK’s first cognitive hospital
- the development of the Ask Oli chatbot, which uses intelligent computing to personalise healthcare and enhance patient experience