Is there free AI training for NHS staff?

Free: start here

AI Skills Boost. The NHS joined as a partner in January 2026, and the courses are free for every adult in the UK. This is the national starting point: what AI is, how to use it safely at work, and where the lines are. You don't need your Trust to sign you up. You can start on your own.

Training in your Trust. Some trusts run their own sessions. Berkshire Healthcare ran Copilot roadshows in person in October 2026, for example. What's on offer varies a lot between trusts, and that's the problem: what you get depends on where you work. Ask your digital or education team what's running before you pay for anything.

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Funded, but competitive: the fellowship

The NHS Fellowship in Clinical AI is the serious route: a 12-month fellowship with salary cover for two days a week, but only on the competitive funded route. Nominated applicants get no salary cover and pay an £8,000 course fee. Applications for the sixth cohort close on 16 November 2026. One catch that isn't obvious: you also need an Approval in Principle from your training programme director or line manager by the same date. No approval, no interview. It's competitive and it's a real time commitment, but it's the closest thing the NHS has to a formal AI training route for clinicians.

Paid: know what you're buying

Beyond the free options there's a whole market. University short courses (the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine runs a four-day online "AI in health" course, for example, though applications for this year closed in October), executive programmes and private trainers. Prices go from tens of pounds for an online module to thousands for executive courses.

Before you pay, ask three questions. Is it accredited for CPD in a way your appraisal will recognise? Is it taught by people who've done the clinical work, or people who've read about it? And what will you be able to do on a Tuesday afterwards that you can't do now? If they can't answer the last one clearly, keep your money.

Where this is heading

The 10 Year Health Plan (July 2025) says NHS staff "will be AI trained and digitally confident". So the expectation is official now, even if the training is still patchy. That gap is exactly why the free options matter. You shouldn't have to pay out of your own pocket for something the system says you need.

Where Clinically Intelligent fits

The free options teach the basics: what AI is, how to use it safely, where the lines are. That matters, but it isn't enough on its own. Knowing what AI is doesn't tell you what to do with a clinic letter on a Tuesday morning. That second part — practical ways of working, tested against real clinical work — is what I teach, in the free newsletter every Wednesday and in paid training for individuals and teams. It's not free versus paid. It's the basics first, then practice.

Where to start this week

If you're new to this, do the basics first, then make it practical.

Sign up for AI Skills Boost. It's free and you can do it today. Then ask your digital or education team what your Trust runs locally, because that's where you'll learn the tools you're actually allowed to use.

Then pick one thing to read here. If you're not sure where to begin, Issue 01 is how I started using AI for clinical documentation. If you're worried about getting it wrong, start with the AI Safety Check. If you want better answers from AI, try the AI Prompting Guide. Both guides are free.

And if you want one useful tool or idea in your inbox every Wednesday, subscribe to Clinically Intelligent. That's free too.

Before you rely on this

This is general information, not careers advice. Course dates, deadlines and funding change, so check with the provider before you apply or pay. Being listed here isn't an endorsement. The training market is growing fast and quality varies.