Public Funding for Spectra Analytics Limited

Mental health issues risk overloading our already stretched primary care services. Early research suggests that mental health issues are on the rise due to COVID-19 and government policies. Common issues include bereavement, isolation, financial concerns, health (directly/indirectly from COVID-19), and domestic and sexual abuse. The lockdown policies, lack of NHS resources and need for remote treatment is exacerbating these issues. We need a better way to deliver mental health services to care for patients and reduce pressure on primary care. We plan to use our online consultation tool, PATCHS, as a platform to support the delivery of mental healthcare services. We intend to develop its capabilities so that it can support remote consultations by a network of mental health professionals. This will be aided by the development of an Artificial Intelligence algorithm that can detect the type of mental health issue, its severity, and to whom the patient needs to be referred. We also intend to set up online support groups so that GP practices can more easily deliver group care and the community can more actively engage with one another. For the Extension for Impact Funding, we will take the first real world steps in delivering the mental health network by connecting PATCHS with the NHS psychological therapies service (IAPT). IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) services offer NICE recommended therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), for common problems involving stress, anxiety and depression. PATCHS will provide patients with structured mental health assessments (scored questionnaires) that will be clinically encoded in Electronic Health Record and sent to the IAPT team.

Primary care is under significant pressure as increasing demand for appointments - rising population, people living longer with more complex co-morbidities - is coupled with a staff hiring/retention crisis. The implementation of effective triage procedures - directing patients to the most appropriate form of care be that A&E, GP/Nurse Appointment, Pharmacy or Self-care - could be a solution. It is estimated that 27% of GP appointments are potentially avoidable, costing the NHS more than £1bn per year. This proposal is to support the funding of real-world trials to evaluate an Artificial Intelligence based triage tool, PATCHS, to support GP practices in managing patient demand. PATCHS has been developed by Spectra Analytics and the University of Manchester.

"The amount of data that we are collecting has increased exponentially, driving a new world quantum of data storage. This has left many businesses with information overload, making it difficult for them to operate and to achieve a Return on Investment (ROI). How can companies harness this data to inform decision making and drive business growth? The answer is data science. Data science -- or data analytics -- is the application of mathematical and statistical modelling, and machine learning / artificial intelligence (AI) to extract insights from data to inform -- and possibly automate -- processes and decision making. Companies have Big Data Plans, but they are realising they also need a Data Science Plan. IDC estimates that the big data and analytics market will grow to $203bn by 2020 - doubling from 2015 -- and Gartner estimates the business value derived from AI will be $5trn+ by 2025 with Decision Support/Augmentation growing by 44% to 2030\. Unfortunately, building a Data Science team is extremely difficult and expensive. PWC found a large and increasing demand for AI/Data Science skills -- increasing by 40% over the next 5 years - but due to the advanced level of skills required there are few qualified practitioners.This preventing companies from delivering cutting-edge solutions. This presents a large and growing market for data scientists and AI product development. To address the need, Spectra Analytics (""Spectra"") has developed a disruptive new business model, the ""AI Factory"". A specialist AI/Data Science firm that allows companies to outsource and/or partner to develop AI solutions."

"Primary care is the foundation of the NHS, accounting for 90% of all NHS contacts; over 340m consultations per year. Over recent years it has come under significant strain due to increasing demand, a hiring/retention crisis, and budget constraints. Effective triage processes - efficiently and accurately directing patients to the appropriate services, be that a GP, alternative health professional or self-care -- can significantly ease pressures on GPs by reducing avoidable consultations; estimated at 27%. This could save the NHS over £700m per year\* while improving patient satisfaction, due to shorter waiting times and longer appointments. Unfortunately, current triage processes are inconsistent and often ineffective, relying on non-clinically trained staff such as GP receptionists. This feasibility study will assess the opportunity and potential impact of applying an existing technology Artificial Intelligence (AI) triage in the primary care triage process. AI triage is well-suited to primary care due to the large amount of patient data, which allows the algorithm to identify both common more unusual ailments. \* based upon NHS England estimates of £100k annual savings per practice for telephone triage."