Powerful new Nursing Times AI search tool passes major milestone
Ask Nursing Times, our new search tool, has proven so popular since it was launched six months ago that tens of thousands of questions have been asked of it since then by readers.
Launched in February this year, Ask Nursing Times uses artificial intelligence to answer questions and recently passed a major milestone when search enquiry number 100,000 was made.
Among the most popular questions so far have been ones concerning issues including nurse pay, staff uniforms, medication errors and prescribing.
Possibly reflecting huge interest in the new national uniform for NHS staff, question number 100,000 was: Who designed the new NHS uniform for clinical workers?
The answer provided by Ask Nursing Times, which can be read in full below, was NHS Supply Chain, a national body that provides procurement and logistics services for the NHS in England.
Question: Who designed the new NHS uniform for clinical workers?
Answer: The new NHS uniform for clinical workers was designed and organized by NHS Supply Chain. This uniform introduces a system of 15 “colourways” for NHS clinical staff and 12 trim colours for allied health professionals, aiming to differentiate clinical staff by colour. However, the uniform was not universally well received by nurses, with some expressing frustration and confusion. Despite this, a majority of nurses had initially backed the idea of uniforms with professions differentiated by colours during a consultation.
This question chimes with the interest shown in the new NHS uniform, which distinguishes staff by healthcare profession, when it hit the headlines almost 12 months ago.
Our news story announcing the unveiling of the colours for a national NHS uniform in England received 230,000 page views and a follow up story soon after received nearly 30,000 views.
Meanwhile, further analysis of data on Ask Nursing Times shows that the following questions have been the 10 most popular lines of enquiry from users so far.
Nurse pay levels in the NHS, uniforms, medication errors and prescribing, plus the tragic case of Lucy Letby, have so far proven the most popular topics to ask about.
- When will the 5.5% pay rise for nurses take effect?
- Who designed the new NHS uniform for clinical workers?
- What is the average annual salary increase for NHS nurses in England?
- What is the average salary increase for NHS workers in England?
- How does the 5.5% pay rise for NHS workers in England compare to previous years?
- When was Lucy Letby first suspected of harming babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital?
- When do medication errors typically occur in the patient care process?
- What is the average pay uplift for NHS staff in 2024-25?
- What is the current state of nursing pay in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland?
- What are the benefits of non-medical prescribing for patients?
To use Ask Nursing Times, all you need to do is type in a question about nursing, be it on a clinical procedure or condition, a piece of government policy or pay levels, or how to get on in your career.
Ask Nursing Times instantly interrogates our website of more than 6,000 double-blind peer-reviewed articles, as well as news, features and opinion, to try and find you the answer.
Powered by artificial intelligence, the search tool then gives a short summary in response to your question and cites the articles that it is sourced from for further reading.
It also suggests additional questions and articles that might be of interest to you, based on your original question, which the tool can then provide too.
If you are already benefiting from being a Nursing Times subscriber, you can simply log in and start using Ask Nursing Times, as much as you want, straight away.
Related articles on Ask Nursing Times
More on the national uniform project
