Eating the Elephant: From Babylon Beginnings to AI-Powered Hospitals

The One Where Imperial Went From 16,000 Overdue Patients to a 59% Drop in Cancellations

In the second episode of DrDoctor Will See You Now with Imperial College Healthcare, we look at the numbers. Since going live in August of last year, the results have been striking: hospital cancellations down 59%, patient-initiated cancellations down 45%, and the DNA rate dropping to an all-time trust low of 9.4% - with a target of 7% firmly in sight. Mel and Tom also dig into how the backlog is defined and misunderstood, why chronic patients need a different approach, how linked diagnostic appointments are being managed through pre-validation, and the cultural resistance that proved harder to navigate than the operational change itself.

Eating the Elephant: From Babylon Beginnings to AI-Powered Hospitals

Microsoft Chief Clinical Information Officer and paediatric doctor, Umang Patel joins the podcast to reflect on his journey from Babylon and early digital health experiments to today’s AI revolution. Having first met in 2012, Tom and Umang discuss lessons from the 2010s, the NHS’s unique strengths, and the growing role of clinicians in leading transformation. The episode explores practical changes now arriving in hospitals - from AI scribes and ambient notes to smarter MDTs and clinician-led innovation - and why this moment feels like a real opportunity to scale better, more equitable care.

There and Back Again: Ian Abbs on the Life of an NHS Chief Executive

In this episode, Tom talks with Professor Ian Abbs, former CMO and CEO of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, about his journey from medical school and renal transplantation to hospital leadership and digital health advocacy. They discuss the NHS's organisational changes, the Guy's and St Thomas' merger, the foundation trust era, and the cultural lessons from early clinical computing. Ian reflects on personal experiences with technology, the convergence of biology and AI, and how we can move forward in the digital health ecosystem.

The Era of Choice: What Happened When Imperial Gave Patients Control

In the latest episode of DrDoctor Will See You Now, we explore the intersection of technology and operational change in the NHS with Milica Stjepanovic, Deputy Divisional Director of Operations at Imperial College Healthcare Trust NHS. With Tom, she discusses giving patients options, control and agency through Choice Booking of appointments, as well as the operational and patient experience benefits this has delivered. (Part 1/3)

Healthcare Under a Microscope: Time Bombs, Frightened Horses and…the NHS on WhatsApp?

In this final episode of our two-part series, Tom Whicher and Professor Joe MacDonald take a look at what the NHS needs next: build on what already works (shared care records, EPR foundations) and add the missing coordination layer that patients and carers feel most acutely. Joe argues the NHS is unprepared for the “demographic time bomb” of ageing, multi-morbidity, and end-of-life care, and that today carers often become the de facto integrators across fragmented services. They also explore a (not so distant) future where AI assistants reduce admin, support clinicians with triage and summarisation, and enable more care at home. The closing message? After a long “trough”, the NHS has changed culturally and could lead the world if it regulates for open standards and invests in scaling proven innovations. Buy Joe's new book FHIR and Loathing in Las Vegas here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/FHIR-Loathing-Vegas-Prof-McDonald/dp/B0FRYDV52G