AI projects to tackle racial inequality in UK healthcare, says Javid

Exclusive: health secretary signs up to hi-tech schemes countering health disparities and reflecting minority ethnic groups' data

Artificial intelligence is to be used to tackle racial inequalities in the NHS under government plans to level up" healthcare.

It is hoped that millions of black, Asian and minority ethnic Britons will benefit from revolutionary computer techniques designed to transform care and speed up diagnoses of potentially deadly conditions.

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, has given the green light to a series of hi-tech initiatives aimed at tackling health disparities in the UK. It comes amid mounting concern over the issue among senior ministers.

New projects include drawing up fresh standards for health data inclusivity amid fears that the datasets at the moment fail to adequately represent people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Another project will use computer algorithms to investigate factors behind adverse maternity incidents involving BAME mothers. The results could lead to recommended changes, which could include new training for midwives and nurses. Black women are five times more likely to die in the UK due to complications during pregnancy compared with white women.

Javid said he was committed to removing barriers" in the NHS so that every one of us, no matter our background, can live healthier, longer lives".

Experts have warned for years that some people from BAME communities have poorer health than the overall population. More recently, the pandemic took a disproportionate toll on these groups.