Generative AI and the future of healthcare jobs in Ireland

Strategic Alignment with HX’s Digital Vision HX’s Digital Strategy 2025–2035 outlines a commitment to becoming a showcase hospital for digital transformation. Generative AI is identified as a key enabler for:
 

• Streamlined diagnostics 
• Personalised treatments 
• Medical image analysis 
• Operational optimisation 

The strategy also highlights the need for robust governance and ethical frameworks to manage AI deployment risks.

The Leeds study analysed 134 roles across 16,000 employees. HX, while about a quarter of the size with 4,500 staff, nevertheless has a similarly diverse workforce. Generative AI could:

• Automate and accelerate routine diagnostic imaging, improving accuracy as well. 
• Automate routine clinical documentation through large language models (LLMs) and ambient listening, reducing replication and error rates, and resulting in improved outcomes. 
• Support clinical coding (e.g. cervical histopathology) and triage, so that patients are more easily and quickly prioritised according to severity and urgency, thus improving patient flow and timely access to appropriate care. 
• Enhance user engagement, shared decision-making and trust through transparent AI-powered interfaces. This aligns with HX’s goal to empower staff and improve care delivery through modern tools.

These are the central pillars of Sláintecare and the HSE Corporate Plan 2025–2027. The National Inclusion Health Framework specifically addresses health inequalities and access barriers, that GenAI can help mitigate.

Stakeholder feedback at HX emphasises the desire for digital-first access to health information and proactive care partnerships. Generative AI can support this by:

• Enhance patient engagement through AI-powered interfaces, improving medication management 
• Enabling patient-generated data integration 
• Supporting remote monitoring and personalised alerts 
• Enhancing trust through transparent AI systems 
• Population health: GenAI can support early intervention and screening programmes and help address wider determinants of health through predictive analytics. This aligns with the Healthy Ireland Implementation Plan 2023–2027, which focuses on prevention and health equity. GenAI can support behavioural risk analysis and targeted interventions.

HX’s strategy also references the critical need for compliance with the AS ISO/IEC 42001:2023 standard for AI management systems. This ensures:
 

• Ethical deployment 
• Data security 
• Accountability in clinical decision support 5.

GenAI aligns with Ireland’s push toward integrated care, particularly through programmes like Enhanced Community Care and Urgent & Emergency Care. These initiatives aim to break down silos and deliver care in the right setting at the right time.

This includes AI-driven tools for requirements forecasting, recruitment, retention and improved service delivery through optimised training. It addresses staff shortages (especially in post-acute settings) that lead to impeded patient flow, especially in acute settings.

The emphasis is on building high-achieving, adaptive and willing teams through re-skilling and leadership development, and optimised user interface design and functionality to support and facilitate new models of care, including digital diagnostics (see below).

In this context, the Public Sector Agreement 2024–2026 includes commitments to 7-day service delivery and workforce flexibility, and is useful for discussing GenAI’s role in enabling continuous care.

Use cases in Ireland

The National Screening Service has begun exploring AI-powered clinical coding in cervical histopathology, leveraging SNOMED-CT and NLP to improve diagnostic accuracy and reduce human error. These efforts demonstrate how GenAI can support structured data extraction and accelerate clinical decision-making, and align with the Women’s Health Action Plan 2024–2025.
 

• AI for radiology and imaging • The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin began piloting AI-based chest X-ray analysis software (Behold.ai) in 2021 to help radiologists auto-triage suspected COVID-19 cases and lung abnormalities faster, flagging serious cases for faster radiologist review. Source: RTÉ News report, 2021 • The HSE’s National Screening Service has evaluated AI tools for breast cancer screening mammograms to improve detection accuracy and reduce workloads on radiologists. Source: Irish Times, 2021 – HSE looks at AI in screening
• AI for patient triage • The AI-powered symptom checker Babylon Health, contracted by the HSE, was deployed as part of COVID-19 triage and information services in 2020, supporting patients in identifying symptoms and next steps without immediately attending GP or ED. Source: Irish Examiner, 2020 – HSE digital COVID-19 triage tools
• AI in operational/demand forecasting and hospital avoidance • In 2022, the HSE’s National Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons explored AI-driven predictive analytics to forecast ED attendances and bed occupancy trends, aiming to proactively manage surges and resource allocation. Source: HSE Integrated Care conference proceedings, 2022 (internal document; summary referenced in Irish Medical Times).
• EHR integration pilots • The Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) Epic EHR project includes integrations of AI-driven clinical decision support for sepsis alerts, medication safety, and predictive deterioration scores - these are foundational AI applications embedded in modern EHRs. Source: CHI Epic Go-Live press release, 2023

Ireland’s implementation and adoption of GenAI must be guided by robust ethical frameworks and international standards such as AS ISO/IEC 42001:2023.

Transparency, accountability and patient consent are critical pillars for any deployment that encourage inclusive practices and ethical frameworks.

The restructuring of care governance into Health Regions provides a timely opportunity to embed GenAI into digital transformation strategies. However, success will depend on agile programme management and stakeholder alignment across the HSE and affiliated agencies with eHealth Strategy for Ireland.

While GenAI offers efficiency gains, risks include bias in training data, over-reliance on automation and challenges in clinical validation. A phased, evidence-based approach is essential, supported by multidisciplinary oversight

This supports innovation in service delivery and staff engagement, including longer term digital transformation initiatives like the HSE's Digital for Care 2030 and ultimately better outcomes for patients.