The National AI Awards

Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust (RBFT) and the University of Reading: Improving Staff Retention at the RBFT

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest general hospital foundation trusts, they provide acute and specialist care to over 500,000 people. Driven by innovation, the Trust prioritises cutting-edge technology to enhance productivity and patient outcomes.

The project has delivered significant organisational impact at scale, bringing tangible results to applied workforce management. By accurately modeling HR data, the Trust has moved toward a highly optimised framework that supports the wellbeing and efficiency of its massive healthcare workforce.

Judges praised the entry as an "impressive benchmark," specifically highlighting the sophisticated blend of predictive accuracy, explainability, and actionable HR integration. The panel commended the team's strategic vision and technical capability, noting that the robust documentation provided substantial evidence of meaningful, real-world impact.

Octopus Energy: AI for Energy, Intelligent Octopus Go’s flexible solution curbs fossil-fuel reliance and grid upgrade costs

What sets this entry apart is its selection as the "best of the best" across the entire AI Product category. Evaluated against highly technical enterprise offerings, industry-specific systems, and robust platform infrastructures, Octopus Energy emerged as the definitive benchmark .

The judging panel highly rated IOGo for its practical relevance, noting that it translates AI capabilities into direct, material benefits for the environment. Ultimately, its combination of commercial scale, enthusiastic B2C adoption, and systemic transformation potential cemented its status as the category's standout entry.

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust: Responsible AI at Scale: Transforming 150k Patient Pathways with Fairness, Transparency and Trust

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, led by Consultant Radiologist Dr. Indrajeet Das, has pioneered the live deployment of responsible AI in a high-stakes healthcare setting. Serving 1.1 million people in the Midlands, the Trust utilises Harrison AI to interpret chest X-rays, its largest imaging modality by volume, encompassing 150,000 annual scans.

The impact of this deployment is profound. By leveraging advanced AI for chest X-ray interpretation, the Trust has drastically improved diagnostic prioritisation, particularly within oncology, directly translating clinical efficiency into a societal impact measured in lives saved.

Judges described the entry as an "outstanding example of responsible AI" and a "leading benchmark for practice." They praised the rigorous pre-deployment validation, including shadow-mode testing, which mitigated risks before clinical use. The panel particularly lauded the integration of independent, third-party assurance technology to continuously monitor real-world bias and performance variation, ensuring best-in-class safety, fairness, and human accountability at scale.