At NIAXO, our mission is to empower organisations to harness data, ignite innovation, and drive sustainable growth. We believe in making data-driven solutions accessible, especially where they can have the greatest impact. One size does not fit all, we work with each client on a bespoke approach ensuring our response suits their requirements. Our Innovation as a Service offering was exemplified when we helped the UK Ambulance Service predict and mitigate ambulance delays at hospitals, reflecting our commitment to public sector advancement and improved patient outcomes.

The UK Ambulance Service faced a pressing challenge: prolonged handover delays at hospitals were creating operational bottlenecks and affecting patient care. They reached out to ACE (The Accelerated Capability Environment, part of the Home Office) to explore ways to predict when delays might occur and understand the reasons behind them. Determining a robust predictive model would allow staff to anticipate slowdowns and implement proactive measures to reduce waiting times.

Our objective was clear: identify the most effective approach to generating predictions for ambulance handovers and, crucially, uncover the factors that cause these delays. By doing so, the Ambulance Service could design interventions and strategies to minimise queue build-ups, alleviate pressure on staff, and ultimately improve patient experiences.

The project team began by diving deep into the data—examining variables like hospital occupancy, patient profiles, time of day, and more. Through this initial exploration, we identified data anomalies that required rectification before modelling could effectively proceed. Next, we evaluated multiple modelling techniques—everything from traditional statistical methods to machine learning approaches.

After thorough comparison, we selected Random Forest as our final model. Unlike simpler methods, Random Forest harnesses a group of decision trees that “vote” on outcomes, offering higher reliability and adaptability. Once trained, it ran efficiently, allowing us to test varying scenarios rapidly. This agility was critical in a time-sensitive healthcare environment.

Our solution delivered valuable insights into why handovers are delayed, enabling the Ambulance Service to proactively address issues. With the help of clear visualisations—dashboards, charts, and interactive graphs—clinicians and managers could see the primary delay factors at a glance. The Ambulance Service thus gained the ability to mitigate slowdowns, reducing operational strain and enhancing patient flow.

Throughout this process, we embodied NIAXO’s values of People-Centric Growth, Customer Commitment and Ambitious Innovation—prioritising collaboration, shared learning, and meaningful progress

If you’re a Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) or healthcare leader keen to revolutionise the way your service harnesses data, let us show you how our Innovation as a Service approach can help. Contact us at www.niaxo.co to learn how we transform healthcare operations using advanced analytics, data integration, and real-time insights.