The NHS must urgently equip doctors with AI tools to tackle diagnostic errors that cause avoidable tragedies, warns Dr Zaid Al-fagih, former NHS doctor, and Co-Founder and CEO of Rhazes AI.
His comments follow the launch of Jess’s Rule, an NHS England initiative that urges GPs to “think again” if they see a sick patient three times without reaching a diagnosis. The 3-step plan is named after Jessica Brady, who contacted her GP on more than 20 separate occasions after feeling unwell. She later died from advanced-stage 4 cancer.
Dr Al-fagih blames the NHS for withholding the very AI tools that will help doctors to tackle diagnostic error, which occurs in one in 14 general medical hospital patients (BMJ). In the US, around 800,000 people each year die or are permanently disabled due to misdiagnosis across care settings (BMJ). Decades of post-mortem research also indicate that diagnostic errors contribute to approximately 10% of patient deaths (NIH). These are solvable failures of systems and support, not of clinician intent.
The Rhazes CEO believes doctors urgently need tools to automate documentation, easing the workload on stressed clinicians, whilst also providing a second, unbiased ‘set of eyes’ to help doctors avoid missed illnesses in one or two visits, let alone three.
Dr Al-fagih argues implementation remains unnecessarily slow. A recent UCL-led study found bringing AI into NHS hospitals is harder than leaders expected, citing governance, contracting, data, and training hurdles. He calls for a fast-track pathway for low-risk, high-impact clinician-in-the-loop tools, with clear evaluation and procurement rails so frontline teams can adopt proven systems quickly. The former frontline doctor faced similar challenges while piloting his products in the UK’s health system.
He thinks the 3-step plan is already “common-sense practice” by most doctors – and that NHS bosses should instead tackle the problem at its root: overworked doctors making mistakes. Earlier this year, an NHS doctor delayed the diagnosis of a bowel perforation because of extreme exhaustion.
Dr Zaid Al-fagih said: “Jess’s case is deeply unsettling because it could have been avoidable. Doctors don’t need a 3-step reminder – this is common-sense practice. They need concrete ways to avoid diagnostic errors. Without fast-tracking AI use, I think the sad truth is that we’ll see more tragedies in the future.
“We know that doctors are overwhelmed by their increasing workloads, and we know this is a leading cause of diagnostic error. So why are NHS bosses sitting on their hands?
“Agentic AI can take the admin off the desk and put a calm, unbiased second opinion in the room. It can identify red flags on referrals, surface guideline criteria, and help standardise safety-netting; the moments where a nudge can be the difference between life and death.”
