Digital GP provider Babylon ends long-term acute trust partnerships

Babylon is ending its high-profile partnerships with two large acute trusts, board meeting papers have confirmed.

The digital health provider had contracts with University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) for use of its app-based triage as well as a broader 10-year deal with the Royal Wolverhampton Trust (RWT) for digital-first integrated care.

In minutes from a board meeting on 2 August, the Royal Wolverhampton Trust confirmed it had ‘received formal notification from Babylon seeking to end the partnership working arrangements with the Trust in Primary Care’.

It followed confirmation from University Hospitals Birmingham that the contract with Babylon would end in October. It had been rolling out its Ask A&E triage app which allowed patients to check symptoms.

Instead, the trust plans to build on an emergency department smart registration and triage project that would follow on from the Babylon work it said.

Both deals have ended just a year or two into the 10-year partnerships which had been announced as improving access for patients and freeing up NHS staff time.

It has been reported that more than 22,000 patients across the two trusts had registered to use Babylon’s symptom checker.

Last year Pulse revealed that leaders from NHSX and NHS England had visited UHB where its artificial intelligence triage model was also being rolled out to help meet Covid-19 demand.

NHS England has previously looked into the viability of rolling out the Babylon model more widely, including pilots in North West London, but an assessment concluded it was unfeasible.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust said: ‘The Trust served notice on the contract with Babylon Health in July and this collaboration will end in October.

‘Work continues on a new emergency department (ED) smart registration and triage project, using the learning gathered from the Babylon symptom checking project.’

A spokesperson for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust said: ‘We are working closely with Babylon to safely and effectively terminate the partnership. 

‘Currently, there is no set date for the contract to end, but it is likely to be in the autumn.’

A statement from Babylon said: ‘At this time, RWT [Royal Wolverhampton] and Babylon have made a mutual decision to end our partnership, as it is not economically viable for Babylon in the current climate.

‘RWT will continue to drive the adoption of digital healthcare tools and technologies in the planning and delivery of services. Babylon will continue to fulfil its mission to provide affordable, high-quality, accessible care, including to over 380,000 patients in the UK.

‘As a priority, we will work to ensure the safe and smooth transition of patients from the Babylon platform onto alternative providers.’

HSJ has also reported that Babylon will be decommissioning its A&E symptom check service this year due to the long-term commitment to embed NHS111 as the first port of all for urgent and emergency care.

Concerns have been raised around the safety of triage apps, including by the CQC and a doctor who was labelled a ‘troll’ by Babylon after he tested its AI app and reported the results on social media.

In 2019, the NHS long-term plan pledged that everyone who wants them will be able to have digital GP appointments within the next five years.