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The UK government is clearing the way for faster, more effective tech innovation in the emergency services with the launch of the Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO).
The new RIO will reduce the burden for businesses hoping to bring new products and services to the market in some of the UK’s fastest-growing sectors, through innovations like drones which can improve business efficiency and quickly send critical deliveries to remote parts of the country.
To do so, it will support regulators to update regulation, speeding up approvals, and ensuring different regulatory bodies work together smoothly. It will work to continuously inform the government of regulatory barriers to innovation, set priorities for regulators which align with the government’s broader ambitions and support regulators to develop the capability they need to meet them and grow the economy.
The RIO’s mission will initially support the growth of four fast-growing areas of technology making a difference to people’s lives, two of which pose significant potential for emergency services.
Connected and autonomous technology
Autonomous vehicles like drones can deliver emergency supplies to remote areas quickly and efficiently and work to approve this technology could play a key part in supporting emergency services to keep people safe. Greater support could also enable more drones to be used by businesses across the UK, building on projects like the drone service used by Royal Mail to deliver to Orkney and improving efficiency.
We’ve written previously about several emergency services drone initiatives, such as:
- The Scottish Ambulance Service testing how drones can be used in response to cardiac arrests
- The Welsh Ambulance Service moving closer to using drones to fly defibrillators to patients
- Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service investigating the use of drones to detect and suppress wildfires
Artificial Intelligence and digital in healthcare
With increasing pressures on the NHS, AI is set to revolutionise healthcare delivery so doctors can diagnose illnesses faster and improve patient care. It will help run hospitals more efficiently with medical staff able to spend less time on administration, cutting waiting times and ambulance handover times. It could also enable more personalised medicines, tailoring treatment to individuals. RIO will support the healthcare sector to deploy AI innovations safely, improving NHS efficiency and patients’ health outcomes.
Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said, “The launch of the Regulatory Innovation Office, a key manifesto commitment, is a big step forward in bringing the UK’s most promising new technologies to the public faster and safely while kickstarting economic growth.
“By speeding up approvals, providing regulatory certainty and reducing unnecessary delays, we’re curbing the burden of red tape so businesses and our public services can innovate and grow, which means more jobs, a stronger economy, and a better quality of life for people across the UK.
“From breakthroughs that could help doctors diagnose illnesses earlier to satellite navigation for more accurate weather forecasting and getting emergency supplies to where they are needed, quickly and effectively, RIO will make sure UK companies are at the forefront of the next generation of technologies.”
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