Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the Health and Social Care sector is rapidly maturing, with more and more people now realising that it has a major role to play in creating targeted, purposeful innovation. The most impactful applications of AI will be those that focus on very specific use cases, aligned with real-world problems which are currently being faced by practitioners across the country.

As Shane Buckley, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gigamon, noted in a recent Forbes Technology Council article, “The organisations that lead in the AI era will be those that combine fast-moving innovation with intentional, responsible leadership. Purpose and passion are not mutually exclusive; they are mutually reinforcing.”

We understand the intrigue, excitement and potential trepidation of AI adoption. To better understand our customers’ perspectives, we recently conducted a survey exploring priorities and concerns across healthcare, social care, and education. Drawing on insights from nearly 300 professionals, the findings reveal a clear focus: reducing administrative burden, improving care quality, and giving practitioners more time to do what matters most, supporting people.

One of the core messages, noted by the survey, from across the sector is clear. AI must be a solution to a problem, not a technology in search of one.

Purposeful Innovation within Social Care

In social care, administrative burden is well-documented and is consuming time that could be better spent in direct engagement with vulnerable people. Jamie Stewart, a Social Care Transformation Manager at Suffolk County Council, says: “When I was taking notes, I didn’t always feel that I was present in the conversation because I was desperately trying to capture what was being discussed and then think about what needed to be done next.”

The deployment of Liquidlogic FormFlow AI Assistant at Suffolk and Cheshire East councils demonstrates the tangible benefits of a problem-oriented AI approach. One social worker noted the ‘life-changing’ impacts of the tool, which automates the transcription and structuring of assessment notes, freeing them from hours of administrative work. The impact is not just a matter of efficiency; it is also about restoring the human connection at the heart of social work.

Practitioners reported that they were able to build better relationships with clients by conducting more natural and less intrusive assessments. This is a recurring theme which shows AI’s greatest potential lies in its ability to tackle the repetitive tasks that dilute the core mission of care professionals. Our recent survey results show that a significant majority of respondents identified the reduction of repetitive tasks as a key benefit of AI.

It also provides an opportunity to pick up on nuances in a person’s needs that even the most conscientious and experienced care professional may miss. As Jamie Stewart, a Social Care Transformation Manager at Suffolk County Council, points out: “The AI suggests solutions practitioners might miss. For instance, it recommended IT courses for a client’s computer literacy struggles, which the practitioner hadn’t thought of.”

“Practitioners sometimes struggle to articulate their observations and recommendations. The AI helps by framing their insights clearly, often leading them to adopt its wording. Managers have noted this has resulted in an improvement in the quality and information captured.”

Purposeful Innovation within the NHS

This principle extends into the more complex clinical environments of the NHS. Keyur Jani, Pharmacy IT System Manager at London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, emphasises the potential of AI working in the background to manage the vast and ever-growing datasets that underpin modern medicine: “From optimising pharmacy logistics to analysing population health data, AI can work silently and efficiently behind the scenes, identifying patterns and streamlining processes that are currently resource-intensive and prone to human error.”

Purposeful Innovation within AI helps to focus on augmenting existing workflows, rather than replacing them. This is a critical factor in building clinician trust. When AI is presented as a tool that simplifies tasks and provides better insights, rather than as an autonomous decision-maker, it is met with far greater acceptance. The goal, as articulated by multiple experts, is to create a ‘cognitive offload’, allowing clinicians to focus their expertise on complex decision-making and patient interaction.

Register now for the AI Thought Leadership Webinar – 21st January 2026

At System C, we thoroughly believe that AI should never be created for its own sake. Every solution we build is expertly designed to solve real-world challenges in healthcare, social care, and education. Our focus is on delivering measurable value: saving time, improving outcomes, and enhancing the experience for both practitioners and the people they support.

To continue the conversation, we are hosting a live AI thought-leadership webinar – AI with Purpose: Discussion and Insights from 300 Voices – on 21st January 2026 (11:00 AM – 12:00 PM), bringing together experts, council leaders, and practitioners to discuss:

  • Key findings from the report
  • Real-world AI applications in healthcare
  • Ethical considerations and governance
  • Q&A with AI specialists and healthcare representatives

Next Steps

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